Worlds Apart
by FoxStang
Summary: In an alternate, parallel universe to the Zootopia of the film, Judy Hopps never left her hometown to become a police officer. Meanwhile, Officer Nicholas P. Wilde of ZPD Precinct One is dispatched to a little farming community called Bunnyburrow...
1. Chapter 1

**Worlds Apart**

A sleek figure walked confidently through the crowded sidewalks of Savannah Central, a place already abuzz with activity despite the morning's early hour. A navy blue jacket and mirrored sunglasses failed to hide the pointed ears, thin muzzle, and brushlike tail of the animal beneath, the exposed portions of his reddish-brown fur seeming to glow slightly under the amber hue of the rising sun. He stopped in front of a particular building, raising his left paw to drink from the coffee cup it was clutching while simultaneously pulling open one of the building's glass doors with his right. Gold foil lettering on the large, ornate door read "Zootopia Police Department - Precinct One".

Once out of the damp morning chill, the fox removed his jacket to reveal a well-pressed police uniform underneath, in the same navy color. An embroidered name patch sat opposite to a polished gold badge on his chest, the letters spelling out _N. WILDE._ As the fox strolled further into the building's lobby, he came into the view of a large cheetah seated comfortably at the reception desk, a half-eaten glazed donut in his paw. "Good morning Nick!" Clawhauser called, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his friend and his unoccupied paw giving a slight wave.

"Morning to you too, Clawhauser," Nick coolly replied, giving the portly feline a nod and salute across his sunglasses.

"Better hurry, briefing starts in three minutes! I know you don't want parking duty again..." Clawhauser chided.

Nick lowered the sunglasses down his snout, peering over them with a gleam in his emerald eyes. "All the time in the world, buddy!"

Nick took his seat in the briefing room, colloquially referred to as the Bullpen, moments before Chief Bogo huffed in. "Alright everyone, seats, we've got a lot on the roster today." Two junior officers in the rear had somehow failed to notice their chief's imposing presence; the panther and boar were still quietly arguing about a call made in the previous day's ball game. "IF YOU TWO ARE THROUGH," the chief roared, silencing the two rookies, "I think we've found today's meter maids! Officers Anima and Swenson, dismissed!" The young officers slunk out of the room, each grabbing orange safety vests from a rack by the door. Nick was relieved, though he hid his expression. He had been worried Bogo would assign him that tedious job again.

The buffalo continued down his roll sheet, assigning each mammal a patrol sector or specific case. Nick momentarily let his attention drift into a daydream about his upcoming vacation, knowing he was near the end of the list. "Wilde!" the chief's voice barked, snapping the fox's focus back with a sharp attenuation of his ears. "My office after the briefing." One of Nick's ears dropped quizzically as he wondered what 'special treat' Bogo might have in store for him this time, but he was given no hints as the chief immediately continued down the last few names on the sheet. "You've got your orders, all officers dismissed!" Bogo announced before thunderously marching out of the room, sending all the other officers scurrying to follow suit. Nick held back as the larger officers barreled out the door to their squad cars. A lesson he had learned early upon joining the ZPD was that he was not above being trampled.

The muscular figure of the ZPD's cape buffalo chief was already seated at his desk when Nick walked in, sunglasses removed and hooked onto his shirt. "Happy Monday chief, you're looking well today. Get your horns waxed?" Nick offered with a smirk. Bogo hadn't looked up from his monitor.

"No need for the sugar and spice Wilde, you're not in trouble for once. I've got a special assignment for you, this one came in over the weekend," the chief grunted. He pressed a button on his keyboard, and a nearby printer began spitting out pages.

"A _special_ assignment, for little old me?" Nick sang, coyly holding his muzzle in his paws. "Oh chief, you shouldn't have!"

"Shut it, Wilde," the chief spat, "we got a call from a sheriff in one of the border counties, they're a little short on mammal-power and requesting one of our officers to back them up on an investigation. Nothing serious, petty theft and vandalism. A class Valedictorian like yourself should be able to knock it out in a day." The buffalo chief grabbed the prints and stapled them before putting them in a heavy folder and handing it to Nick, who quickly looked over the case summary.

"Bunnyburrow, chief? You don't think maybe Officer Shorn would be better suited out there?"

Bogo huffed. "I do, but the ram is out with fleas. Picked them up tackling that nasty oryx at the club fight that broke out last week. Maybe if you were paying attention during roll call you would have noticed he was missing." The chief sat forward in his chair, his face closer to level with the fox's. "So unless you don't think you can handle being the big bad fox around a few fluffy rabbits, you've got your assignment, Wilde." The chief sat back upright and turned back to the computer. Without looking back at Nick, he added "and you better be on your best behavior down there, you're representing the ZPD to another department. Got it?"

"I don't suppose I get a partner on this one?" Nick asked, closing the file. The question received another grunt from the buffalo. "Nobody we can spare, there was another mammal reported missing today and we still haven't found the first. That's two in as many weeks, and I've got the mayor all over me about it. Now get going Wilde, you've got a bit of a drive."

 _"Well,"_ thought Nick, _"beats being a meter maid anyway."_

* * *

Nearly two hours later, Nick was driving past a worn sign that read "Welcome to Bunnyburrow!" which was counting up population at an alarming rate. His police cruiser looked especially modern against the backdrop of farm equipment and wooden construction. The address of the contact in the case file turned out to be for a bakery, 'Gideon's Real Good Baked Stuff'. Nick picked up his car's radio handset. "914 to Dispatch, Officer Wilde checking in at my destination, over."

The speaker crackled momentarily with static as he released the button, then buzzed to life again with Clawhauser's jovial voice. "10-4 914, we have you on location, over. Have fun in bunny town, Nick!"

A little bell over the doorway chimed as Nick walked into the bakery, setting eyes on a well-fed fox behind the counter. _Really, another fox in a place called Bunnyburrow?_ Nick mused. "Good morning sir, Officer Nicholas Wilde with the Zootopia Police Department," he greeted the other vulpine in his most professional manner, extending a paw. "Are you the one who reported the incident of theft and vandalism?"

The portly fox stepped around the counter, clasping Nick's outstretched paw with both of his and shaking it. "Yessir, Gideon Gray is the name. ZPD? Wow, I didn't expect them to send one of you all the way out here to our little neck of the woods! And a fox no less, I never thought I'd see the day we'd have a fox police officer. Mayor Lionheart is really turning things around!"

Nick smiled back, calmly removing his paw from Gideon's ever-intensifying shakes. "Yeah, I'm the first! Now about this report..."

The baker's eyes widened as he remembered why Nick was there in the first place. "OH, right! Well, it was just yesterday I came in to open up the shop, I went into the back room to get more pies for the display case and I found this..." Gideon trailed off as he gestured for Nick to follow him into the storeroom. On the floor was an empty pie tin, surrounded with blue-stained crumbs. "You see," the larger fox said, "one of my fresh blueberry pies, totally gone!"

Retrieving a pad and pen from one of his belt pouches, Nick began taking notes on the crime scene. "Okay, that's the theft," he said as he finished writing. "Now what about the vandalism?"

Grey gestured around the floor. "Everywhere!" he exclaimed. "It wasn't enough to steal the pie, they drew lines all over the place!" Nick furrowed his brow as he looked towards the floor, his ears falling flat. Gideon was right, there were several blue lines leading in separate directions away from the pie.

The baker piped up behind Nick as he leaned closer to the floor. "We must be dealing with a master criminal, there are no signs of forced entry, no broken windows... I left everything alone so I didn't destroy any evidence."

As he leaned closer, Nick noticed that there were tiny paw prints on either side of the blue lines, which looked suspiciously like blueberry. Suddenly Nick shot straight up, gave the baker a smug look, and sarcastically declared "Have no fear sir, Officer Nicholas P. Wilde is on the case!" before running out the door. Before he had a chance to respond, Gideon was left standing dumbfounded as the door bell chimed in the distance.

The policefox ran outside to the back of the small bakery, where the blue lines could still be seen in the short grass. A brief distance into the neighboring field they converged, and disappeared at a tiny water pump just behind a mouse-sized farmhouse. The predator laid his head into one of his paws and quietly laughed to himself. An image of his graduation from the police academy flashed through his mind, Mayor Lionheart's words echoing; " _On this day we welcome you, Nicholas Wilde, first graduate of my Mammal Inclusion Initiative, into the Zootopia Police Department's ranks! I'm sure our first-ever fox police officer will make us proud!"_

"Oh Mayor Lionheart, if only you could see me now." Nick chuckled.

* * *

"So sorry again about wasting your time like that, Officer Wilde!" Gideon said, looking flustered.

Nick waved a paw through the air dismissively as he swallowed a bite of the blueberry pie the other fox had offered him. "Hey, no worries. This is almost like having a day off. By the way, Mr. Mouston said he'd come by soon to pay for the pie his kids ate, and make them clean up the mess." Gideon nodded as Nick finished off his slice of pie. "Say, Mr. Grey, where do you get your blueberries? That was delicious!"

The bakery owner's ears and tail perked up in unison as he responded, "Oh, that would be the Hopps farm, just up the road! Freshest fruits and veggies in all of Zootopia, they really know a thing or two about plant husbandry."

Nick smiled, shaking Gideon's paw once again. "I just might have to pay them a visit, thanks for the tip."

As Nick left, he spotted a group of several juvenile rabbits looking at his police cruiser from a fence railing across the road. The second the fox made eye contact, they all jumped down and ran back through the carrot field behind them. Nick sat in his car and went through the process of adding his notes to the case file, and called in to let Clawhauser know he would be heading back to the station soon.

A couple of the bunnies who were hanging from the fence were now running around the Hopps farm stand when Nick drove up, and they froze when the comparatively tall vulpine stepped out. The gray-furred female rabbit running the stand also seemed momentarily surprised, but quickly smiled earnestly back at the approaching fox, her lavender-eyed gaze reflected in Nick's sunglasses.

" _Wow, they weren't kidding_ ," the bunny girl thought as she stood from her chair and straightened her pink shirt. "Welcome to the Hopps Family Farm! You must be Officer Wilde. My siblings were just telling me about how you helped Gideon!"

Nick swept off his sunglasses as he entered the shade of the farm stand's roof. "Yes ma'am. And you are...?" Nick offered a paw to the rabbit, which she shook.

"Judy. Judy Hopps. What can we get for you today? Carrots are on special for a buck off, and blueberries were just picked this morning!" Nick reached back for his wallet.

"Two pounds of blueberries, please," he said, handing Judy the correct bills.

"I have to say, I'm really glad to meet you," said Judy, while weighing out the fruit. "See, I used to dream about moving to Zootopia and becoming a police officer like you. I have been reading about you since you actually did it." She tied the sack of blueberries closed and handed it to the fox, who was looking at her with more interest.

"What stopped you?" Nick asked, "I may have been the first fox to become a police officer, but there's no reason a bunny couldn't have been the first police academy graduate under the Mammal Inclusion Initiative."

Judy looked down for a moment before returning her eyes to meet Nick's. "Well, it's just there hasn't been a rabbit cop in the history of ever, and I don't think a farm-raised bunny from a family of 273 could make it in the big city."

Nick lowered his eyelids halfway and grinned at the rabbit. "Sweetheart, before I was a cop, I was a big-time hustler. I ran with all the wrong packs, got into real trouble, and nearly lost my tail over it. But I turned my life around; I never thought a street-raised fox from a family of 1 could be a cop either. Don't let the thing other animals see you as become what you are, or else we'll just stay sly foxes and dumb bunnies forever."

One of Judy's ears turned at the 'dumb bunnies' remark, but nevertheless the fox's words resonated with her. "How is the city," she asked, "I've always wanted to visit."

Nick stood back up to his full height, not realizing that he had crouched down to the rabbit's level. "It really is a beautiful place, it never seems to sleep. Not like here. There is always something happening, some new thing to see. It's definitely worth visiting. Look me up if you're ever in town, maybe I can take you on a ride-along or something. Show you what being a ZPD officer is all about."

Judy's ears perked, and she smiled warmly at Nick. "That would be a lot of fun. Thanks Officer Wilde, and enjoy the blueberries!" Nick picked up the bag of fruit, put his sunglasses back on top of his snout, and turned back towards his patrol car. "See you later Officer Carrots, stay safe!"

 _'Officer Carrots'? Where in the world did that come from..._ Nick thought to himself as he started the car and pulled back onto the road. _Cute bunny though._

* * *

 **Well hello there everyone, I'm FoxStang! This story marks my first foray into fan fiction, though I have written some other material in the past. Hopefully you have enjoyed it!  
**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


	2. Chapter 2

The sun hung low in the sky as Nick exited ZPD headquarters, its light filtering between two nearby high-rises to paint the plaza and the reddish stonework of the police building's facade a blaze of orange. Several young mammals, their school day over, ran through the space under the passive watch of their parents, while an otter and muskrat darted through the pond batting a floating ball. The light-hearted scene was a far cry from the interior of the ZPD precinct, where a... _moderately upset..._ Chief Bogo was undoubtedly still embroiled in a lively conversation with the Bunnyburrow sheriff, regarding his use of the fox officer's time in the country.

Nick took a breath deep enough to realign his back, cause all the fur on his tail to stand up and his ears to seek refuge on his neck, culminating in a mighty yawn; the display of canine teeth would have put Officers Wolford or Fangmeyer to shame. _"Sweet cheese and crackers,"_ the fox thought to himself, _"what a day."_ The moment of relaxation was cut short by a soaking wet volleyball striking Nick squarely on top of his head; as the offending sphere rebounded into the air, he caught a glimpse of the muskrat pup disappearing to the opposite side of the pond while the otter remained frozen in place, his paws still in the air and a look of dumbstruck horror on his young face.

Without skipping a beat, Nick shut his eyes, reached above his head, and swatted the descending ball back to the mustelid. "Sorry, Officer Wilde!" the juvenile uttered in the meekest of voices. Nick just smiled; "Out of bounds! Ten points to your buddy there. Good arm though!" he teased, before turning to the sidewalk and leisurely walking off, his claws clicking lightly against the flagstone steps.

Savannah Central still echoed with the sounds of city life, though they seemed much less intense in the encroaching evening chill than the purposeful fever pitch of the morning. Nick's stride quickly became automatic as he followed a familiar route home, leaving his mind to reconcile the day's events; though his actual assignment had turned out to be anti-climactic, he couldn't shake a nagging feeling about the rabbit girl he had met at the farm stand. _"Seriously Wilde, 'Officer Carrots'?"_ thought the fox, remembering the seemingly unprompted name he had called the bunny. _"Even for you, that's pushing a little on the familiar side. I just hope I didn't offend the poor girl..."_

Nick snapped himself back to the present long enough to pick up a take-out meal from a panda restaurant he passed, the enticing aroma of exotic spices made all the sweeter by his sensitive predator nose. Upon arriving back at his apartment he was surprised to see it was already past 8PM. Groaning slightly at the thought of the early hour he was due back at the ZPD, Nick quickly shed his police uniform in favor of a loose T-shirt and boxers before sitting down to his dinner.

No sooner had his tail brushed the chair, Nick heard his phone chime from his bedroom. "Ugh," the fatigued fox sighed audibly. _"Better check, in case it's the Chief,"_ he decided, padding across to retrieve the smartphone. The Furbook icon glowed on the screen, declaring "Nick Wilde was tagged in a post by Benjamin Clawhauser." "Now what could this be, a new selfie? Instagrowl pic of a donut? Maybe another 'sneaky' picture of of me in a ridiculous pose?" he wondered aloud as he opened the prompt. Immediately, the screen was overtaken by a cascade of "OMG"s repeated over and over, requiring several swipes of Nick's paw to get past. At the bottom was a picture of a news article declaring 'Pop Singer GAZELLE To Hold Concert Series In Zootopia!'

"Never change, Clawhauser," Nick laughed to himself as he saw the cheetah had tagged everyone in the ZPD. He pressed the 'Like' button before returning to his food. Minutes later the plate was clear and Nick allowed his lithe frame to collapse into his bed, the physical stresses of 422 miles in the ill-fitting seat of his patrol car melting away as he drifted into a contented slumber.

* * *

 _"See you later, Officer Carrots, stay safe!"_

The words echoed in Judy's head as the muscular police cruiser driven by Zootopia's one and only fox officer disappeared on the horizon. Quiet settled over Bunnyburrow once more as the road in front of the Hopps farm stand returned to its vacant state; the sound of a paw in the hay behind her made Judy realize she had been staring at the cruiser as it receded into the distance; she immediately dismissed it as nothing, there wasn't exactly much else to look at.

One of Judy's siblings, a smaller female with light brown fur and pale blue eyes, reached past her face and grabbed two carrots from the stand. "FREEZE!", a somewhat squeaky voice declared from behind her back. "I am Officer Carrots of the Bunnyburrow Sheriff's Department, you are under arrest!" Judy turned to see the pointy end of two orange vegetables in her face. She got a wild look in her eye, bared her teeth, and bit the end off one of the carrots. Raising her paws up, she growled; the brown bunny squealed and took off running around the farm stand.

"NO! STOP! You have the right to remain silent!" the sprinting rabbit protested, tossing the half-carrot at her older sister over her shoulder. "Anything you say can and WILL be used against you in a c-OOF!"

Judy caught up to her sibling easily and scooped the small bunny off its feet with one arm, kneading her other paw between the tyke's ears. "Stop messing around, Ginny!" Judy said between laughs. "Now go put that carrot back and help mom clean up for dinner."

The younger rabbit pretend-sulked back to the stand and replaced the intact carrot, before turning inquisitively to Judy. "Why did that fox call you Officer Carrots," she asked, "are you like the official carrot police now? And was that fox really a cop? 'Cuz I thought foxes couldn't be cops. Is he Mr. Gray's brother or something...?"

Judy cut off the eager stream of questions with a finger across the youngster's lips. "One, I always was the official carrot police. Two, he is a real cop, he's the first fox ever to be. No, he's not related to Gideon, and I don't really know why he called me Officer Carrots," she responded succinctly. _Though for whatever reason, I don't feel like that was meant as an insult... It actually felt endearing._ Judy continued to herself.

"M'kay, bye Judes!" Ginny chirped, before running off to the farm house. Judy retrieved the bitten carrot from the field, nibbling on it as she took her seat once more at the produce stand. She rolled the vegetable between her fingers, its exterior texture reminiscent of the furless pads on Officer Wilde's paws, though much firmer; rabbits lacked this feature, instead Judy's paws were covered in a thicker, velveteen fur. The sensation made her remember their brief talk once more, especially when Nick had mentioned his past; something the news stories about him had never discussed with any real detail.

 _A big-time hustler,_ Judy repeated to herself, envisioning the proud, kind-eyed fox that had shaken her paw minutes ago flitting through shadowy alleys, trading ill-gotten goods for crumpled money. It wasn't exactly a foreign image in her mind, it was one of several her parents had used to describe foxes as she grew up. She had kept a more open mind, always wanting to see more in other mammals; it was why her family now did business with Gideon Gray, and why she took so well to Officer Wilde's comment about being what other animals see you as. _Gideon,_ she thought, smirking, _how far you've come since..._

"JUDY!", Stu Hopps' voice called across the carrot field. "Time to close up for the night, dinner is almost ready!" She turned to the house, indeed her siblings were lining up at the water spigot to clean their paws. Discarding the carrot stem, Judy pulled a cover over the stand and picked up the basket of blueberries, the fragile fruit needing refrigeration.

Inside the house, Bonnie was stirring a comically large pot of carrot-barley stew; the fragrance of fennel seed was carried throughout the humble domicile on the steam rising from the pot. "Smells good, mom," Judy said as she placed the blueberries into the cellar.

"So dear, your siblings tell me a police officer was here from the city." Bonnie inquired, still focused on stirring.

"Yeah mom, you'll never guess who it was - Officer Wilde!" Judy replied brightly.

The rabbit matriarch looked up, raising an eyebrow. "The fox officer you're always reading about? What brings him all the way out to farm country?" Stu looked up from his newspaper on hearing the word 'fox', while Judy leaned on the counter opposite her mother.

Ginny poked her face in through the kitchen window and squeaked "yeah mom, he made Judy the official carrot police!"

Judy glared at the smug-faced bunny, and shut the window before answering her mother's inquiry. "I guess the sheriff called someone in to help on a case out here, and that was just who they sent! Anyway forget what they say about meeting your heroes, he was perfectly nice. And, he said if I was ever in the city, he would take me on a ride-along!"

The last bit got a raised eyebrow from Stu; "now Judy, I thought we talked about the whole police officer thing. And, I don't approve of you going anywhere with strange mammals, especially a f-"

"STU." Bonnie interjected. Stu closed his mouth before saying "sorry" almost inaudibly. "I just don't want you putting yourself in danger, Jude!"

Judy scowled at her father. "Dad, I am an adult now, I can take care of myself. Besides, even if I didn't become a police officer like I used to dream of, I have still always wanted to see the city! And what better way than with one of Zootopia's finest? I'd be as safe as can be."

Stu opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by Bonnie ringing a bell outside. A stampede of hungry rabbits homed in on every conceivable point of entry into the house, and over the clamor Stu shouted at Judy "WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS LATER."

* * *

Nick Wilde found himself walking through a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Savannah Central. He brushed off his shirt with a paw, thinking to himself how nicely the yellow Hawaiian pattern complemented his rust-hued fur. Paired with khaki dress pants and a dark, striped tie, he looked every bit the respectable, mature young fox - or at least that's what he told himself. Trailing behind him was his son, a smaller fennec fox wearing a purple elephant onesie without the hood on. _Son? I don't have a son..._ Nick thought, but his attention was diverted as he had somehow appeared inside a shop.

Everything in the shop was too big, the counter alone was more than twice Nick's height. Then he noticed the mammal behind the counter was an elephant. Another elephant further back was scooping a gargantuan mound of ice cream into a dish. _An elephant's ice cream shop? What am I doing here?_ Nick wondered. His son had put his hood on and wandered over to the display case, where he was pointing at a very large red popsicle. A blurry figure had appeared in front of him, like a cloud of opaque gray, stopping just short of his nose. Nick rubbed his eyes, certain a speck of dust must have gotten in. When he opened them again he still couldn't see the figure clearly, but everything else was in focus.

Then the figure spoke; or rather, Nick seemed to know it spoke, but it didn't make a sound. Suddenly Nick was very aware of everyone in the shop staring at him, even the gray figure was staring at him somehow even though it didn't have any discernible features. He stared transfixed at the anomaly, but his concentration was broken by his son's gravelly, adult voice. "Nick! C'MON NICK!" the fennec fox said. Not his son, his business partner, Finnick! How had he forgotten?

The interior of the shop disappeared, leaving Nick standing once again on the sidewalk. The gray apparition 'spoke' again, and Finnick said something Nick couldn't quite make out. "What was that, buddy," he asked.

"I said..." Finnick began, placing the trunk of his onesie over his muzzle, "TOOT TOOT TOOT TOOT TOOT"

 _BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_ blared Nick's alarm clock from the bedside table. He scrambled around for a second in the sheets, disoriented from the sudden jump back into reality, before hitting the switch to silence the clock. "It's me," Nick said aloud, "me, Nick Wilde, ZPD officer." Just to be safe, he poked a claw into his own cheek. "Yep, real." _Some dream though..._ he pondered, sitting upright on the bed.

The adrenaline shock of the dream soon wore off, and Nick dragged himself groggily out of bed to begin his morning routine. As he brushed his fangs, combed his fur back into alignment and prepared his police uniform, he couldn't help but be entranced by the images his mind had delivered. It had felt so real - Nick had experienced vivid dreams before, but this felt like something else. _I've hardly even seen Finnick since I left for the police academy,_ he thought, remembering his stalwart partner from his hustling days. _But even then, we never used an elephant's ice cream shop in a job. What would we even do? How would we play it? Maybe... No, stop it fox, you're a cop now!_

The freshly preened predator distracted himself momentarily by making ridiculous faces in the mirror, then striking macho-man poses and admiring his own sleek, shirtless form in the mirror, drawing a big heart in the cream-colored fur of his chest and underbelly. After all, what good was it being a fox if you weren't smug about it every now and then? The playful impulse passed though, and all too soon Nick was on the street once again on his way to work.

Somewhere between leaving his cozy apartment and his usual stop at Snarlbucks for coffee and a breakfast sandwich, thoughts of his strange dream faded from Nick's mind. He arrived at the precinct unusually early, absentmindedly tossing blueberries into the air and snapping them up as they apexed. Clawhauser was whiskers-deep in a bright pink donut box, and didn't see Nick as he walked into the lobby. Nick bounced a berry off the box's lid, expertly catching it in his jaws as it rebounded. The cheetah's face rose, a jelly-filled donut in his jaws; "Hih Nihk!" he greeted the fox, his breath puffing powdered sugar onto the desk.

"Mornin' Spots! Hey, a little birdie told me Gazelle might be coming to town, you want to go see her?" Clawhauser squealed a little and looked to be vibrating in his chair from excitement. "See you there big guy!" Nick said as he walked towards the briefing room.

If Clawhauser had been aware of the mood hanging across the Bullpen, he certainly didn't show it. Fangmeyer and Delgato were unusually quiet, ordinarily the duo were already ribbing each other by this point in the morning; Nick recalled they had both been assigned to the two missing mammals the day prior, he guessed their investigation had not gone well. The absence of their banter seemed to be a tacit cue to the rest of the officers, who carried on only hushed conversation.

The arrival of Chief Bogo broke the spell, drawing the whole room to attention. "Straight to business then," the buffalo said, "if you haven't already heard, we had two more mammals reported missing yesterday, a polar bear from Tundra Town and a tiger from the Rainforest District. Fangmeyer, Delgato, take McHorn and Francine and get back to it. Everyone else, ground patrols in zones 2, 5, 8, and 15. Dismissed."

Nick departed without a word, he knew better than to press the chief's buttons when he was like that. He spared a minute to memorize the details of the missing mammals in case he were to find anything on his patrol. Nick was actually looking forward to his routine, spending time walking the streets felt like home to him, and the same qualities that made him a master hustler also helped him connect and build rapport with citizens all around Zootopia; in what seemed like no time, he was almost universally well-liked and recognized. Of course, the news coverage of his hiring had helped there.

The area Nick had been assigned covered several of his old haunts, and as he strolled he would have the odd acquaintance say hello. Though he would tell you otherwise, the fox didn't _actually_ know everyone in Zootopia, that would be an incredible feat. But you wouldn't know any better to watch him walking and talking with what seemed like every animal he passed. He had just finished giving a giraffe teen a high four (or a very low four, depending on your perspective) when something caught his eye.

The part of the patrol Nick had not been familiar with took him into the habitat of larger mammals, specifically elephants. A small restaurant, relatively speaking, was the target of Nick's fixation; 'Jumbeaux's Cafe', read a brightly-painted sign above the door. A wave of deja vu overtook Nick, obscuring his vision for an instant as the image from his subconscious forced itself to the forefront of the fox's waking mind. This was the shop from his dream.

Nick charged across the street, smitten with a baseless determination; in this moment, nothing in the world could convince him that there were any more significant place in the universe than this shop. Luckily a customer was leaving just then, for the fox had not given any thought to how he was actually going to open the massive door. He took the last few steps, one paw in front of the other, a fire in his viridian eyes as he crossed the threshold and... The feeling was gone. Nick tried desperately to recall it, to find any semblance of meaning for what had drawn him in, to no avail. For all the world to see, he was just a fox that had wandered into a shop full of elephants. The fox in the room, as it were.

The shop's owner, Jerry Jumbeaux Jr., was the first to notice the small, navy-clad canid standing in the doorway. "Good morning Officer Wilde, anything the matter?" the elephant asked, drawing a cursory glance from a couple of his patrons.

Nick quickly composed himself; "nothing at all Mr. Jumbeaux, just out on patrol today," he responded hastily.

The elephant raised a questioning eyebrow, simply saying "alright then officer, you have a nice day!"

Nick glanced around the shop one more time. No hint of anything amiss, no blurry gray figure, no Finnick - just a bunch of elephants enjoying frozen treats. He waited patiently for another customer to open the door and walked back out to continue his patrol, his brushy tail held just a little bit lower than before.

* * *

Judy had been hard at work all morning, doing her part to help her mother prepare a mountain of blueberry pancakes for breakfast before heading outside to begin setting up the stand for the day's business. She was ready for a rush, it was the first day of parsnip harvest and the farm would surely have many more visitors than usual. Gideon stopped by the house early on to buy all the blueberries he could, anticipating a similar demand for pies. He had permission from Judy's parents to set up his van next to their produce stand.

As they expected the day was extremely busy, with mammals from all over the tri-burrows area flooding in to get some of the sweet, white roots in addition to perusing the usual ample selection. Representatives from a few of Zootopia's finest herbivorous restaurants even made the journey, knowing the crisp snap of the Hopps' freshest produce would fetch a premium price among the city's most dedicated connoisseurs. The veritable army of rabbit siblings brigaded through the day to resupply the front lines with fruit and vegetables, and Gideon disappeared several times to replenish his racks of pies and pastries.

It was over in what seemed like minutes, the day rushing by in a chaotic symphony of furiously flying vegetables and paw-fuls of cash, the register's dinging acting as the metronome. The rolling door on a large box truck belonging to one of the city's premier bistros slammed shut and a bell tolled from the farmhouse in the distance; 5PM already! Judy slumped heavily over the chair behind her, lazily taking a drink from her water bottle before dumping the rest over her ears. A few yards to her left, Gideon's cash register chimed as he closed the drawer, and the beleaguered fox took a seat on the van's tailgate.

"Well, I guess that's all she wrote, huh Judy?" said Gideon, fanning his face with an empty pie plate.

The bunny barely moved, relishing the moment to shut her eyes as her moistened ears radiated heat. "Uh-huh," she half-grunted, "I've never seen so many mammals in one place!"

Gideon chuckled, turning to retrieve a blender from inside the cab. "Want a smoothie?" Judy cracked an eyelid, looking over to see the stout fox holding two tall glasses in his paws.

"Sure," she replied, "sounds good." The baker nodded and tossed a selection of fruits into the blender with a scoop of ice cream.

Sticking a straw into the frosty drink, Gideon offered it to Judy. "Yeah, a day like that almost feels like being in the city, I'm tellin' ya."

The rabbit recoiled slightly, feeling the effects of drinking the smoothie too quickly; when the brain freeze subsided Judy looked back at him. "And just what do you know about the city, Gideon? You've lived out here your whole life too."

Abandoning his straw mid-sip, Gideon said "Nuh-uh, Travis took me for a visit last year. He's got like a uncle or cousin or grandpappy or something that lives in the city." A purple stain appeared on the corner of his muzzle from trying to talk with a mouthful of smoothie. The fox went cross-eyed, his tongue darting across his jaw to clear the sweet liquid before it made his fur stick.

"Well, lucky you," Judy said, hanging her head over the chair's back once again, "I might get my chance soon though. Officer Wilde said that maybe he would take me on a ride-along sometime. It would be like I always dreamed..."

"Yeah, heh-heh, just like that silly play back when we was in school," the baker laughed.

Judy turned eyes and ears on Gideon, scowling. "Thanks Gideon, you always were so supportive of me."

The other's ears withered down in shame; "now, that ain't fair Judy, you know I'm sorry for how I acted back then, I'm a changed fox. After gettin' to see the city though I gotta stand by what I've always told you. We've got our place and they've got theirs, and there just ain't no point in tryin' to change that. The city just is not meant for farm mammals like us."

Judy slurped up the last of her drink and handed the glass back to her neighbor, who was now staring off into a field. "Thanks for the smoothie, Gideon, I'll see you in the morning."

The rotund fox swatted at a bug flying near his nose, saying "yeah, g'night. Another busy day tomorrow, for sure." The bunny emptied out the stand's overflowing cash register and headed up to the house, where the last of her siblings were getting their dinner.

Stu sat at the near end of the long dinner table, a visor across his brow as he anxiously tabulated the day's activity, and a half-eaten plate of parsnip steak by his side. His eyes brightened as Judy deposited the day's earnings in front of him. Just then, Bonnie walked through the doorway, and upon seeing Judy's ruffled face exclaimed "there's the fearless carrot police!" She immediately swept a plate from the cupboard, dishing up Judy's own portion of parsnips. "There you are dear, you must be starving!" Judy hugged her mom before accepting the plate and taking a seat at the table.

"Speaking of which," Bonnie continued, "your father and I have been talking since yesterday, and... Stu?"

Judy's dad was furiously alternating between writing figures at the bottom of his ledger and using the pencil's eraser to peck at buttons on his calculator. Writing in one final box, he slapped the pencil down and triumphantly declared "NINETEEN PERCENT! We came in nineteen percent over last year's opening day!"

His excitement faded slightly when he caught his wife's look; she simply said "that's great, dear!" while looking pointedly between her husband and daughter.

"Oh, right," said Stu, before clearing his throat. "Judy, your mother and I have been talking." Judy looked up eagerly. "If you really want to visit the city, well, we think you're old enough now that you..."

He was cut off by his daughter's sudden embrace, her momentum knocking the visor off his forehead. "Thank you Dad, thank you Mom! I promise I'll be careful, you've got nothing to worry about!"

Stu met his wife's eyes over their daughter's shoulder, the look sending a silent message. "Now Jude, if you're going to do this, we expect you to stay with that police officer. There's no telling what might happen if you go running off. Okay?"

Judy stood back up. "Yep! One hundred percent, no problem! Thank you so much!" she bubbled, before scooping up her plate and all but sprinting to her room.

"I still don't like this idea," Stu addressed his wife once more.

"You know she'd never let this go, Stu, she's always been stubborn that way. Better that she have our support than try to do something with our tails turned," Bonnie offered sagely.

The father nodded as he removed the visor dangling from his ears. "Does it have to be the police, though? I'm sure there's a nice, quiet bus tour or something for her to go on."

Bonnie walked across the room to retrieve Stu's empty dinner plate. "This has been her dream almost since she was born, and that cop is like a hero to her. When you were her age, if Batbunny had offered you the chance to ride with him, see the Batburrow, and meet Alfalfred, would you have turned him down?"

Stu's expression softened. "No, I suppose not."

* * *

The remainder of Nick's patrol had been uneventful. Following the strange occurrence at Jumbeaux's Cafe the vulpine's natural energy and enthusiasm had been somewhat dampened, and upon his return to the ZPD building a certain cheetah noticed the lack of spring in his step. "Something happen today, Nick?" Clawhauser asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nick continued walking as he replied, "no, all quiet today really. Just a lot of miles on my paws is all." Then he stopped and turned halfway back to the spotted feline, a question on the tip of his tongue. He decided against it though, closing his jaw before proceeding down the hallway to his desk to complete his shift records.

The required duty reports took almost no time at all, considering there wasn't actually anything to report. Nick put on his jacket and made for the exit hallway, but he was stopped by Chief Bogo's grunt behind him. "Wilde," called the chief, "you missed 10:00 check-in. Anything I should know about?"

Nick turned, "no sir," he replied curtly.

Clearly distracted, the buffalo simply said "good, don't let it happen again" before continuing the opposite direction. Nick inwardly winced, the chief's aloof demeanor didn't bode well for the open investigations or the tone of the following morning's briefing. The sky outside seemed to be aware of this as a thick cloud cover had rolled in, bringing a charge to the air that made the fur on the end of the animal's triangular ears tingle.

Nick arrived back at his apartment earlier than usual. The fox gingerly removed his police blues, smoothing the splayed fur beneath and looking forward to using the rest of the evening to decompress and just hang around. He removed a casual outfit from his closet, the silken fabric of a green Hawaiian shirt feeling much more pleasant gliding across his fur than the durable ripstop weave of his work uniform. With one paw Nick selected a plate of leftovers, placing it in the microwave oven, as his other paw busied itself checking all the notifications on his phone.

The device buzzed, a picture of a compact, tan fox with large ears appearing on the screen. Nick grinned widely on seeing the familiar face as he pressed the icon to accept the call. "Well, if it isn't my old buddy Finnick," he crooned, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

On the other end of the line, the fennec laughed in his deceptively deep voice. "Just thought I'd check and see if you've decided to give up the goody two-paws cop act yet," Finnick chided.

"Aww, what's wrong, does the baby miss his daddy already?" Nick teased.

"HEY! Don't think I won't come over there and bite that dumb smile right off your face. I can hear it through the phone!" growled Finnick.

"Keep your tail on, I was just joking. How's business these days?" asked Nick, as he retrieved his food from the microwave and situated himself in a chair.

Finnick's voice calmed slightly. "These old games aren't the same without you, but you know how it is. Gotta play to win. At the end of the day I still come out alright."

"Glad to hear it," said Nick, "you know, I actually had a dream last night that I was back out there, hustling just like old times. You were there too."

Finnick took a sharp breath. "AAAHAHAA, I'm in everybody's dreams kit, just the price of being beautiful."

Nick continued, "it was weird though, it felt like there was supposed to be someone else there with us. I actually found the place from the dream today, and when I did I got that feeling like I used to right before we ran a really good job."

"And you threw off that cereal-box badge, went inside, and worked your magic?" Finnick pressed.

"No, the feeling went away as soon as I walked through the door," Nick concluded.

"You know what this means, right?" said the smaller predator, adopting a mystical air, "the universe is sending you a message."

Nick grinned as he played along. "And just what would that be," he asked.

Finnick's voice resumed its usual cadence; "that you need to get back to the good life, and we need to find a third mammal for the team! You know, form up a real squad."

Through the earpiece, Nick heard someone pound on his old partner's door. "Oops, gotta go," Finnick said, sounding rushed. "Hey, come see me if you're ever on this side of town. Lose the suit if you do though, bad for business."

"See you around!" said Nick, as he ended the call.

After finishing dinner, the fox cop restlessly padded around his apartment, considering going out just to walk around the twilit city. The idea was cut by the sound of rain starting outside, not the ever-present artificial precipitation from the nearby Rainforest District, but actual rain. _Ah well,_ Nick thought, _I've walked enough today anyway._ Resigning himself to a night in, he turned on the TV and went raid the fridge. The Hopps Farm bag in paw, Nick laid flat on his bed and tossed the fruits into the air, entertained by how they appeared to shrink and then grow bigger before landing in his jaws. In the background, the snow leopardess news anchor was interviewing Mayor Lionheart about the missing mammals the ZPD was trying to track down.

The day's events played over in Nick's mind, from the strange dream, to his feeling at Jumbeaux's Cafe, to the unexpected call from Finnick... _Finnick,_ the fox mused, _maybe Finnick was right, maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. But what?_ He reached his paw back into the bag searching for another berry, claws catching nothing but burlap. _Other than I need to buy more blueberries._ Nick laid his head back onto the pillow, resting his eyes momentarily.

All of a sudden everything was quiet; the leopardess' voice had disappeared, along with the din of rainfall outside. Nick sat up, instantly alert. Even with his exceptional night vision, he couldn't make out anything other than that he seemed to be in a small room with dim, blue lighting. _Where am I? This isn't my apartment..._ Looking to his side, he realized that the gray figure had returned, and it seemed to want Nick to follow it. He reached a paw out to touch the phantasm.

As his claw touched the misty shape the room disappeared around him, and without warning Nick was falling! His stomach turned over with the sensation of free-fall, and the sound of water had returned. In fact, water was all around him, soaking his fur. The dim glow of the moon gave Nick enough light to see that the gray figure was falling with him. Every droplet in the air flashed with an ethereal light as two bolts of lightning seared to the ground in quick succession, and in those pulses the featureless shape solidified, becoming a dark silhouette of a gray-furred mammal against the burning white sky. It almost looked like...

 _CRACK-BOOOM_. The twin claps of thunder jolted Nick upright in his bed, every single strand of fur on his body standing on end. His ears swiveled in all possible directions as his wide eyes scanned the room; the snow leopardess was still delivering a story on the TV, and all the lights in the small apartment were still on. The fox got onto his feet and released the empty blueberry bag he hadn't realized he was clutching, before turning everything off, changing into his sleepwear, and returning to bed.

 _Was that..._ thought Nick, the shadow of the mammal from his fleeting dream a vivid still image in his mind's eye; _a rabbit?_

* * *

 **Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I forgot just how much work was involved in writing other than the part where you're sitting behind a keyboard, pressing buttons while wildly hallucinating. This has consumed just about all of my free time since I posted the first chapter.**

 **Thank you all so much for the support, I can't believe the reader statistics I'm seeing for being so new to this site! It really means a lot, and keeps me motivated.  
**

 **I hope you all have a wonderful April! -FoxStang**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


	3. Chapter 3

Amorphous shapes and colors flashed, pulsated, and faded off into the corners of Nick's vision as the predator stared unblinking at his bedroom ceiling. It had been a restless night for the fox, as he wished in futility for the embrace of sleep to recall him so that he could catch just one more glimpse of the gray figure from his dream. The brief periods of unconsciousness he did manage to achieve were devoid of any further visions. The alarm clock blared its stern reveille from the nightstand, ordering Nick's wandering thoughts into a coherent train once more.

Almost as if it were being guided by a novice puppeteer, Nick's body rose from its resting position, every appendage feeling like it was made of sculpted lead. His tail hung limp from his backside, absent its usual loft and vigor. _No point sticking around, I guess,_ Nick thought, reclaiming his inner monologue from the mist surrounding his consciousness. _Not like I'm going to find any answers sitting here._ He wearily pulled on his uniform, catching a glimpse of his own eyes in the mirror on the door. His pupils glinted a dull yellowish-green in the dark, and the whites were ribboned with bloodshot and fatigue.

Outside, the sky retained a light blanket of clouds, leaving only damp pavement and dripping trees as evidence of the previous night's storm. Nick welcomed the feeling of moisture on the leathery pads of his feet, as it served both to wake him up and make him feel more connected to the city that moved all around him. _It was her,_ he thought, _I'm sure it was her. But why? What could be so important about that farm bunny?_ Nick's years on the streets had instilled a strong pragmatism in him; he had long since abandoned superstition, and so he was inclined to ignore these dreams along with whatever his subconscious was trying to tell him. But he knew better than to ignore his instincts, and right now they seemed to know there was something more to all of this.

The grandiose stonework of the precinct building appeared a deeper shade of orange under its coating of rain, a stark contrast to Nick's brilliant green eyes which were focused on the structure's door. He walked across the threshold, curtly acknowledging Clawhauser and a couple other officers as he proceeded to the Bullpen, where he took his seat in silence. Chief Bogo wasn't far behind, his agitation from the night before still apparent on his face. The officers who had been playfully bantering joined Nick in an attentive salute as the commanding officer took his place at the front of the room.

"I'm sure many of you saw the news last night," the chief said, his voice a stern monotone. "Mammals are continuing to disappear across the city, and Mayor Lionheart himself is beginning to take notice." Nick nodded, he had seen the interview that had been on TV the night before. Well, part of it anyway. Before he had dozed off... "I'm putting a few more of you on those cases," Bogo continued, "if you are called, go get your case file from Clawhauser, and keep me updated on any developments."

Nick's mind wandered once more as the chief read off the day's assignments. _What is it with this rabbit, she sells you a sack of blueberries and suddenly she's hopping through your dreams? Do you even remember her name? Her real name, not 'Carrots'. Well, at least I've got weekend plans now..._

"Wilde!" the chief called in the background.

 _Better go just so I can put this whole thing to rest. At least I can get some more blueberries out of the deal..._

"WILDE!" yelled Bogo, as all eyes in the room turned to Nick. "Parking duty!"

* * *

The Hopps Family Farm had become a regular metropolis since the start of the latest harvest, drawing crowds of mammals to jockey and haggle for the highest grade bushels the humble farm bunnies had to offer. Judy had weathered the storm dutifully through the week, her morale indefatigable as it was bolstered by the anticipation of being able to visit Zootopia soon. Any minute of respite from the tide of customers, she would eagerly pull out her phone and look up destinations, ears perked and violet eyes alight with childlike glee.

Saturday had brought a lull in business, giving Judy plenty of time to browse as she sat in the mid-afternoon sun. Gideon looked on from her side as he reclined in the shade, finding entertainment in how her expression would silently shift from wonder to concentration, shock, confusion, and awe as she flicked from page to page. "Gee Judy, you sure look like you're going all in on this whole 'visit the city' deal," he said, breaking the silence.

The rabbit's phone made a clicking sound as she hit the sleep button, before setting the device aside. "Yep!" she exclaimed brightly, turning to face the baker. "I haven't been this excited about anything since I was a kit!"

"That's great and all, I just worry you'll be disappointed," Gideon said, lowering his paws to the ground.

"And just why would I be disappointed, Gideon? Zootopia is everything mammals have wanted ever since we evolved."

"Yeah, I remember," Gideon interrupted, "a magical place where predators and prey live side by side in harmony, and anyone can be anything. School wasn't _that_ long ago. It's just... Well, you know how we used to get along?"

One of Judy's ears cocked to the side in curiosity. "How could I forget? I was a silly little bunny with dreams of becoming a cop, and you were a huge jerk who called my dreams stupid. Then we both grew up. What does that have to do with the city?"

Gideon reached a paw behind his neck to massage a sore spot. "Well, that's just it. The city ain't got magical powers to change the mammals that live there, they've got their differences the same as we did. There's still problems just like we got here."

"Well of course there's still problems, or else Zootopia wouldn't need a police department," Judy said with a grin. "But mostly, everyone just wants to be a better version of themselves. Just like you, actually. Did I ever tell you that the first time we worked together, my dad tried to make me carry a fox taser?"

Gideon visibly recoiled. "No, you never did."

"Well he did, and I told him I didn't need it because you weren't the same old bully you used to be. You became a better version of yourself."

Gideon broke eye contact as he recognized the compliment, looking instead to his own paws shuffling in the dirt. In the distance both mammals heard a car approaching, only the baker bothered to look at it; a small, red convertible, likely driven by another farm customer. "Well thanks for your faith in me Judes, it does mean a lot. But how your dad did that is kind of what I mean about the city. We can be as evolved as all-get-out, but foxes is still foxes and bunnies is still bunnies."

Judy had picked up her phone again, this time looking at an article she had saved covering the hiring of a certain fox into the Zootopia Police Department. "It's a new world out there Gideon, just look at Nicholas P. Wilde. Like he said, you can't just be what the world sees you as..." She trailed off as the car pulled off the road and parked on the opposite side of Gideon's van, her nose stuck into the phone's screen studying a picture in the article. Gideon stood, straightened his overalls, and walked around to greet their patron.

The picture was one of Judy's favorites, it was of the fox cop at his graduation; he stood proudly in his dress uniform next to Mayor Lionheart, a mile-wide smile on his face as a petite white sheep pinned on his ZPD badge. _Maybe that could have been me, in another lifetime..._ she daydreamed to herself. "Hey Judy, this one's for you!" called Gideon, walking back around the van.

"Oh! Hi, welcome to..." Judy lowered the phone from her nose, finding herself staring into the green eyes of the very same fox whose picture it still displayed.

"Hi Officer Carrots!"

* * *

The remainder of the week had dragged on unbelievably long for Nick, a combination of his impatience for the upcoming weekend's arrival and the menial tasks being assigned to him by the chief as punishment for his lack of attention during the briefing. _I am a real cop, I am a real cop..._ Nick reassured himself as he stuck a ticket onto the window of yet another car in front of an expired parking meter. Luckily this time the owner was not present to berate him.

An alarm chimed on Nick's phone; it was 5:00, time to head back to the station. He dropped his shoulders back and breathed a deep sigh of relief before tearing off the orange mesh vest, crumpling it into as small of a ball as his paws could manage. The ZPD's ancient parking enforcement cart was parked just a couple blocks back, when Nick got to it he tossed the balled-up vest contemptuously into the back and fired up the wheezy little engine.

The sun was just beginning to set on the plaza as Nick arrived at the precinct building, making its spires appear to glow as light faded from the ground up. Inside, Clawhauser was beginning to collect his belongings. "Hey Spots, happy Friday!" greeted Nick, as he approached and leaned against the reception desk.

The cheetah's eyes immediately brightened on seeing his friend. "Oh hi Nick, stop lots of bad guys today?"

"As a matter of fact, I issued 128 tickets this shift, must be some new record or something. Lots of evil parked cars out there!" he replied, oozing sarcasm. "I was actually hoping you could do me a quick favor before you head home, Big C."

"Sure, what is it?" asked the feline. Nick produced a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket, unfolding it before spinning it upright under a claw and sliding it over to the cat. "If you don't mind big guy, can you send that up for a signature?" Clawhauser looked briefly over the document. "Ooh, a ride-along request? And who's this... Judy Hopps from Bunnyburrow?" The big cat laughed. "Wow Nick, just, of all the... You, and a little bunny. O-M-Goodness, now I've seen everything! Did you owe someone a favor after your little vacation out there this week?"

Nick just smirked coolly at the cheetah's remarks. "She runs the farm stand out there, sold me some especially delicious blueberries. I talked to her for a little while, and it turns out she wanted to be a cop, and she's never been to the city! So, being the nice guy that I am, I offered her a ride-along. Maybe I'm just a big softie."

"That's really generous of you, those must have been some amazing blueberries! I'll run this across to the mayor's office, he needs to sign off on it too."

Nick pushed himself off the desk, pointing a claw on both forepaws at Clawhauser. "Thanks Spots, you're a lifesaver! Donuts are on me on Monday."

The city itself seemed to be relaxing as thousands of mammals returned home, the tribulations of the week done. Nick joined in the feeling as he headed back to his apartment, very much looking forward to a couple days of simply being Nick Wilde, fox citizen of Zootopia. That, and the end of the work week meant there was nothing left between him and the answers he hoped to find in Bunnyburrow. Though he had pushed any thoughts of the strange dreams into the back of his mind out of necessity to get through the week, they still surfaced periodically.

Upon arriving back at his apartment, Nick prepared a simple meal for himself, releasing the reigns on his thoughts as he sat down to eat. _Well, Miss Hopps,_ Nick thought, his eyes seeming to focus simultaneously on the plate in front of him and some unknown point thousands of miles away. _Tomorrow we'll hopefully find out just what the world is trying to tell me about you._

Nick polished off the last bites of food, and quickly cleaned up before heading to his bedroom. Through the window, the breathtakingly diverse cityscape painted a mural of pastel hues on a wall inside; the sun had long since set, now each building was lit instead by brightly colored neon and floodlights. Drawing the curtain, Nick shut out the scene as he yawned wide and slid between the sheets, sinking into a deep slumber almost immediately.

The following morning Nick had woken before his alarm clock even went off, immediately springing out of bed to make himself presentable. In the garage below waited Nick's personal car, a memento of his days before becoming a police officer. He started up the cherry red convertible, put the top down, and made for the open road leading out to the countryside.

The sun was beginning its descent to the West as the quiet town of Bunnyburrow appeared on the horizon some hours later, looking especially picturesque under the cloudless sky. Before long the Hopps farm was in sight, and Nick noticed that a van was parked in front of the farm stand. As he got closer, he could make out the same livery as the bakery he had been called to earlier that week. Mindful of the dust he was kicking up, Nick parked back at a good distance.

As he removed his sunglasses and stepped out of the convertible, the bakery owner he had met before walked around the side of the van, looking surprised to see Nick. "Officer Wilde? Is that you?" Gideon said as he extended a paw.

"In the fur!" Nick responded brightly, reciprocating the other's gesture.

"Did something happen, are you out here on an undercover mission?" Gideon asked, noticing the other fox's casual attire.

Nick grinned coolly. "No, nothing like that. Is Judy around? I actually need to talk to her."

"Oh yeah, sure. Just around back," said Gideon somewhat curiously as he motioned the other predator forward.

Nick followed Gideon at a leisurely pace to the farm stand, where Judy was sitting in the shade. Her ears were tucked back under a wide-brimmed straw hat, and her nose mere inches away from her phone. "Hey Judy, this one's for you!" Gideon called as he and Nick approached, the latter walking right up to the distracted bunny. "Oh! Hi, welcome to..." Judy began as she looked up from the phone, her eyes locking onto Nick's smiling visage as the hat tilted back.

"Hi Officer Carrots!" Nick teased, coyly waving a paw.

Judy froze in disbelief for a full second before hurriedly shutting off her phone's screen, silently hoping the fox hadn't noticed the picture of himself. "Uh, hi Officer Wilde!" she finally managed.

"Please," Nick said, raising a paw, "I'm off duty today, 'Nick' will do just fine."

Judy swept off the hat, setting it on the seat behind her as she stood. "Okay then Nick, what brings you all the way out here today?"

Nick reached into a pocket, removing a small burlap bag bearing the Hopps Family Farm logo which he offered to Judy. "Well, I was hoping for a refill."

She took the bag, smirking a little at Nick. "Really, you drove 211 miles from the city just for some more blueberries?"

"What?" Nick said, in mock surprise. "They were really good blueberries. You can't get anything that fresh in the city!"

Judy swept her ears back, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Not to discredit our farm or anything, we _do_ grow some pretty amazing food, but not _that_ amazing. There has to be some other reason you came all the way out here?"

 _I suppose it was pretty obvious,_ Nick thought, straightening his posture and offering the bunny a sly grin. "You got me, Carrots. I actually wanted to talk to you."

Judy paused in between scooping berries into the bag. "To _me?_ " she asked, more than slightly surprised.

"Yeah," Nick continued, "I seem to remember offering you a ride-along if you came to the city, I just wanted to see if you were still interested."

Judy's ears shot straight back up into the air. "Definitely! Actually, I haven't stopped thinking about it since you offered. I've been starting to plan a trip since you stopped by earlier this week." She tied off the bag of blueberries once again, passing it to Nick.

"Great! How much do I owe you?" he asked, reaching back for his wallet. "Oh, those are on the house today," she said, smiling happily at the fox.

"Thanks, you really don't have to do that," Nick said, returning a smile of his own.

Nick really wasn't sure what he had been expecting in coming out to the country. He had his instinct to follow, which still told him there was significance to his being there, but beyond that incredibly vague notion, there was nothing. The bunny girl was pleasant enough, but seeing her again hadn't magically brought meaning to the weird dreams...

Judy caught the look behind Nick's eyes in that instant, tilting her head almost imperceptibly in concern. "So Offic... Nick," she corrected herself, "I was thinking of catching the train into the city as early as Monday."

"You know, that could work," Nick said, focusing once more. "Actually, I just put in a request for your ride-along yesterday, it should be approved by then."

"Awesome, it's a plan then! I can't wait, this has been a dream of mine for SO long!" said a very emphatic Judy, her heels springing up off the ground as she did. "And thank you again for being so generous with your offer."

"Hey, it's the least I can do. Everyone should have a chance to follow a dream," Nick said plainly and sincerely.

They were interrupted by a farm customer, a gruff-looking groundhog from one of the neighboring properties. Judy turned her full attention to the short, brown mammal as he made his selections, while Nick stepped back and observed. She had a very natural charm, and just watching her body language as she assisted the other mammal had a calming effect on Nick; something about the way her ears swayed, her nose's perpetual twitching, or the way her short, cottony tail bobbed while she talked was very disarming.

"So, what are you up to the rest of the day?" asked Judy, after her customer had departed.

"Well, I didn't really have any plans today other than coming here," Nick responded, "maybe I'll just wander and explore the countryside."

Judy looked over at Gideon, who had been intermittently chewing on a claw as he tried his best to mind his own business. "If you feel like a walk, I wouldn't mind taking a break for a little while to show you around," she offered, gesturing to the open fields.

"Sure," Nick smiled, "my tail is cramped from the drive anyway. I could use a stretch."

"Gideon, would you mind watching the stand for a little while?" Judy asked of the baker.

"No problem Judy, it's going to be dark before too long anyway. I'll clean up what I can for you." She thanked him, and began walking with Nick in tow up a well-traveled dirt road leading away from the farm.

"So Mr. Gray is what, your business partner?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, sort of. He used to just buy our fruits to use in his bakery, but recently my dad has been letting him set up shop there so he can sell to our customers too. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, and it's nice to have someone to talk to when it gets slow." Judy responded.

"No one ever thinks it's strange to see a bunny working with a fox out here? I mean, I was surprised to see him when I got called here on duty."

Judy shook her head. "Not anymore, he's had his bakery since we graduated school, he's come a long way. Besides, he's lived here his whole life too. Zootopia isn't the only place predators and prey can get along. And, now that you're showing the world that foxes aren't so bad, it's made things easier on him too."

The road continued into a thicket of trees interspersed with bramble, the late-afternoon sun filtering in at a sharp angle to create beams that sparkled wherever dust or insects crossed their paths. "Hey Carrots, where are we going exactly?" Nick asked.

Judy turned to look at him, smiling innocently. "You'll see in a minute!" she said. The dusty path had narrowed, turning as it meandered uphill.

After rounding one final bend, the trail terminated in the middle of a small clearing. At the far end was a sharp cliff overlooking the fields below, and a fallen log had been rolled into place near the edge to serve as a seat. "I used to come out here every day when I was young, sometimes for hours at a time," Judy said, seating herself on the log and gesturing for Nick to join her. "This little overlook points straight in the direction of Zootopia. I would just sit here all day and dream about what it would be like to go there and live with so many other mammals..."

Nick turned his acute vision to the horizon. Though Zootopia itself wasn't visible, the miles of forest rolling into the distance were a breathtaking sight. If you looked closely, you could make out a parting in the trees where the highway meandered towards the distant city. "Wow, this is some spot you found. As a kit, I would have put up a tent and lived up here."

Judy laughed, "my dad had to stop me from doing that when I was 9!" The rabbit sighed at the fond memory. "Speaking of you as a kit, that's something they never really talk about in the stories about you. You said before you used to be a hustler on the streets, how did you go from that to Officer Nick Wilde of the ZPD?"

"Wow, going straight for the hard questions," Nick said as he looked over at Judy, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight grimace; "I really don't talk about my past much."

Judy's ears dropped as she returned her gaze to the distance. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry. You don't have to answer that."

Nick hadn't stopped looking at the top of the bunny's head. "It's fine, really, I guess it's only fair you know a little about me if we're going to ride around the city together," he said, "I mean, other than what you get from the reporters." Judy looked back up at him. "Yeah, I saw you reading the news story on your phone," he added with the requisite smugness on seeing her embarrassed expression.

"You remember what I said before about being the thing everyone else sees you as?" Judy nodded. "Well, I failed that early on. Something happened when I was really little that made me believe that I could never be anything more than a shifty, sly fox, no matter how much I wanted to be something else. I just... gave up, and went off to do what I thought foxes were supposed to do. I was never a hardened criminal or anything, even though I knew a couple, but all the same my living was made from whatever tricks I could scheme up, skirting right up against the edge of the law."

Judy was following along intently. "Anyway," Nick continued, "eventually everyone has their bad days at work. I got overconfident, thinking that I was the king of the world, and ended up in over my head with one of the city's most powerful mammals. It was a really bad situation, but luckily I escaped with my fur still on. It really made me rethink things, and I thought back to what I used to want as a kit; I had heard about Mayor Lionheart's Mammal Inclusion Initiative not too long before that, and chose to give it a shot. Now, here we are!"

"Why not just come out and tell that to the world?" asked Judy, "I think there's at least a couple mammals out there who would see it as an inspiration."

"The details are, shall we say, a bit more _personal_ than I'm willing to share," he said, in a slightly hushed tone. "Besides, working in the public eye you learn how journalists operate pretty fast. There's a careful art to feeding them a story they won't be able to twist."

"Well, _I_ am inspired by you.

"Thanks Carrots, it means a lot, really," Nick said, grinning at the bunny. Then he readjusted his seat on the log, scooting just a bit back from Judy; he didn't remember being that close to her when they got here... "But enough about me. You said before that you wanted to be a cop?"

"Yeah, I did," Judy began, her eyes shifting back to the ground. "In fact, that was what I used to daydream about when I'd come up here and just stare out towards the city. I was always a spunky little kit, whenever my friends were getting pushed around I was the one to jump in and stand up for them. We even did this silly little play back in school, about the history of predators and prey and how we've evolved and now we can be anything. I got up on stage and said right then, at 9 years old, that I wanted to be a police officer. Gideon made fun of me over that for so long..."

"Wait, Gideon? _That_ Gideon?" Nick asked, gesturing in the general direction of the farm.

"Yeah, he wasn't always the friendly, quiet baker you met. Back in school he was a real jerk. He always used to say I didn't know when to quit, and I wanted to show him so badly that he was wrong... But then we grew up, and as you can see he's changed a lot. I started helping on the farm more and more as I got older, and now my parents really depend on me to run things and be the smiling face everyone sees when they get here."

"Well I for one think you would make an excellent police officer," Nick said. "Oh, and why is that?" Judy inquired, almost mockingly. "Really, I mean it," the fox insisted, "you're a natural at talking to other mammals, and that's like 95% of what being a cop is about."

Judy's ears dropped to the side sassily. "Oh? And just what would the other 5% be, getting your fluffy tail handed to you by huge criminals?"

Nick opened the bag of blueberries and tossed a couple into his mouth. "Hey, I'm not much bigger than you and I handle myself just fine," he said between bites, "if there's anything you really can't do by yourself, everyone else in the department has your back. They might boast and joke around at the station, but it's a family. They wouldn't think twice about coming to help you, they would just get there as fast as they could. Besides, you'll have a partner most of the time."

"Who is your partner?" Judy asked plainly.

"I've been flying solo lately, for the most part," Nick answered, disguising his breaking eye contact as a grab for more blueberries. "But I haven't been on a lot of difficult assignments either, really."

Judy decided not to pursue the subject. "Hmm. So, that other 5%?"

"Mainly just a lot of paperwork," Nick said, pulling back his usual smile. "But sometimes, you get sent out into the country to chase down pie-thieving mice and meet farm bunnies who sell delicious blueberries." He popped a couple more of the fruits onto his tongue to emphasize the point, looking right into the rabbit's eyes as he did so.

"Well aren't you slick. They should call you Slick Nick," she teased with a wry smile.

"Oh, how dare you," Nick laughed, "I used to get that all the time before I was a cop."

"Well, you've still got it," Judy laughed back, "maybe it just comes naturally."

"Lots of things come naturally for foxes, sweetheart," Nick began, before noticing the orange tint taking over the sky as the sun made contact with the horizon. "Wow, sunset already? How long have we been up here?"

Judy's eyes grew wide with excitement again. "This has always been my favorite part of this spot!" she exclaimed, pointing out across the fields below. "Just watch, right there."

It took a couple of minutes for the sun to continue down its arc far enough. Judy sat still, her nose twitching with anticipation. Nick also watched the distant horizon, but stole amused glances at the transfixed bunny.

Finally the moment arrived; against the darkening gradient of the sky, the lights of the city fought towards the heavens. From the pair's vantage point, it looked like a second sun made of diamond was rising, seeming to glitter with every conceivable color all at once. It looked as though it were growing as the pulsating lights stretched ever further into the darkening skyline.

"Isn't that just something else?" Judy crooned, still looking dreamily at the scene as smaller lights in the farms below started to turn on.

"Yeah, that was pretty great! I've never seen it from so far away before, I guess I never thought about what it must look like when you're not right in the middle of it. Thanks for sharing your spot, Carrots."

"Anytime, Nick. I guess we should head back, I don't want to leave Gideon alone to shut down for the day." Judy looked back to the path, even though it was still light enough to see in the clearing, the woods had gone almost pitch-black. She reached into her pocket for her phone to use its light, but it was gone; still sitting on her chair back at the farm stand.

Nick had stood as well, and was stretching. "Hey, I don't suppose you have a flashlight on your utility belt?" Judy asked. The fox shook his head, "nope, my gear stays at the station when I'm off duty." Then he caught the rabbit's glance at the forest path. "What's wrong Carrots, afraid of the dark?"

"NO," she said firmly, "I just can't see the path." Nick took his smug grin to a new level. "Well, remember how I said lots of things come naturally for foxes? One of those things is night vision," the predator said, extending a paw to the rabbit. His eyes glinted green in the fading light as if for emphasis. "Just follow me." She placed her paw in his, and they set off into the woods.

* * *

Gideon had already packed up his van and was beginning to close down the Hopps' stand when Nick and Judy returned. "There you went, I was startin' to wonder if you got lost in the woods!" he said as the two approached. They had separated when it was no longer necessary for Judy to make use of Nick's vision; Judy now walked in front.

"Thanks for taking care of everything down here Gid, anything exciting happen?" she asked, as she stooped to pick up a basket of leeks.

"Naw Judy, all quiet down here. I'm all packed, I was gonna leave if you don't mind, I've got work to do yet back at the shop."

She braced the basket against a hip, freeing a paw to wave at Gideon. "You've done plenty, thanks again. See you in the morning!" The baker gave a curt salute as he jumped into his van and drove off. Judy dropped the basket into a wagon, and retrieved her phone from the chair.

"So, Monday morning then?" asked Nick. "I can meet you at the train station when you get into town."

"Yes! I'll be on the very first one," Judy chirped, her eager smile visible in the glow of her phone's screen. "Here, let me put in your number so I can call you in case I don't find you right away."

"Here," said Nick as he took the device and entered his number. "And done. Can I give you a hand with anything here?"

"Oh no, you're doing plenty for me already. Besides, you've still got a long drive! I'll be fine, Gideon already took care of all the heavy stuff."

"I should be going then, thanks again for the blueberries! They really are delicious." Nick turned towards his car momentarily, but then turned back. "And thanks for showing me around today. I had fun."

Judy closed the distance between them in one swift movement, briefly hugging the fox around his midsection and returning to her work before Nick had a chance to react. "Anytime! I can't begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to Monday. Thank you, SO much."

"Have a good night, Carrots. See you then!" Nick padded through the dirt back to his car, pausing and taking a deep breath before starting the engine and turning back onto the road. Judy smiled after him as the convertible became red lights in the distance, before squealing quietly to herself in delightful anticipation of where she would be in just two days.

Nick hadn't lied to Judy, he did have fun spending the afternoon together. What he hadn't told her was the gut feeling that still tugged at the back of his mind, that had driven him to Bunnyburrow that day in the first place; the feeling that she was supposed to be significant. As he drove away he was tempted to turn back, but why? _Turn back to do what?_ he thought, _Tell her about some dream you had that she was in, for whatever reason? That wouldn't make any sense at all._

If anything, attempting to chase the dream by seeing Judy again had just made him more curious about her. For a moment Nick had felt jealous of Gideon, for the sole reason that the portly baker would be able to see Judy again in the morning. But he forced the idea out of his head, secretly embarrassed at the thought.

Nick flicked the switch for cruise control as he joined the major highway, the drone of the engine and the hum of tires on smooth pavement joining into a consistent white noise. The whole way back to Zootopia, Nick tried to put into words exactly what it was he was feeling about Judy, to no avail. All he knew was that, just like for Judy, Monday couldn't come soon enough...

* * *

 **Hello again everyone!  
**

 **So in this chapter, Nick and Judy finally get together for more than 30 seconds! Exciting times for sure! I had a TON of fun with this chapter, figuring out the dynamic between a version of Nick and Judy that had opposite reactions to key events in their lives turns out to be really engaging. Hours literally turned into minutes.**

 **Thank you all again for all the support, views, favorites, and follows! You have no idea what it means to me.  
**

 **~FoxStang**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


	4. Chapter 4

The interior of Zootopia's central train station was a scene of frantic activity early on Monday morning, the open and arched shape of the massive building amplifying the cacophony of sounds produced by the thousands of mammals all trying to get to thousands of different destinations. Nick eyed a schedule display as he passed, confirming that a train coming from a certain town in the country was on time. It was, and he continued walking to the platform with a confident swagger as he sipped on his coffee.

Several minutes later the noise of the station was cut by the staccato blasts of a horn, signaling the approach of a train into the terminal. It glided slowly to a stop just short of the end of its rails, water droplets still glinting on its outside surfaces from passing through the Rainforest District on its journey to the city's heart. If you knew to look, you could just make out one very excited rabbit eagerly pressed against the glass of the observation bubble atop the middle car.

Judy leaped from the train when she was able to make it through the bottleneck at the doors, removing a pair of white earbuds and immediately scanning through the crowds in the waiting area. It didn't take her long to spot a certain orange-furred predator wearing a navy-blue police uniform, smirking behind his mirrored sunglasses and holding a piece of cardboard on which he had written "CARROTS" in thick marker. She narrowed her eyes at Nick, knowing full well he had seen her disembark and was just playing ignorant so everyone could see her walk up to his sign. He just grinned harder when he caught the look she was giving him.

"You know you're ridiculous," she said, tearing the sign from his paws and replacing it with a fresh bag of blueberries. Nick removed his sunglasses, looking down at her. She had traded her farm attire for a simpler periwinkle shirt and dark leggings with heel protectors, better suited to walking around the city. "Good morning to you too! And thanks for these, I just might be addicted. How was the ride?" Her eyes lit up once again. "It was incredible! I can't wait to see even more up close!"

"Well then, we better get going!" Nick replied, gesturing for the bunny to follow him. "Just one quick stop to make, it will only take a second." Together they strolled out of the station and into the plaza, all the while Judy looked around in wide-eyed awe at the sight of the sheer variety of animals occupying the same space. As they made it outside, she turned her fascination skyward to the bold architecture, including a gigantic display on the side of one building that was intermittently playing a welcome message from Gazelle.

"It's everything I dreamed of, and then some!" she said to Nick as they walked. Not that she had noticed, but the fox had been happily watching her reaction the whole time. "Just remember to blink once in a while," he remarked, "PLENTY left to see today."

Nick's stop turned out to be a donut shop on a side street just off the plaza. Inside he selected a dozen of the glazed and filled treats before rejoining Judy outside where she had stayed, reluctant to miss even a second of sight-seeing. She gave him a playful look when she saw the parcel he was carrying, and as she opened her mouth to comment Nick silenced her with a paw pad across the lips. "Don't go there, Carrots, these aren't even for me."

Judy's brow furrowed as she swatted Nick's paw from her muzzle. "Oh really? I don't suppose you were just getting _me_ breakfast..."

"Actually," Nick said, adjusting his grip on the large pink box, "these are for a buddy of mine at the station. The one who rushed your paperwork through at the last minute on a Friday night so you could be here today. You'll meet him in a minute."

"Oh," Judy replied simply, stepping quickly to follow the fox who was already rejoining the stampede on the main sidewalk.

The ZPD Precinct One building was conveniently located directly opposite the train station in Zootopia's central plaza, which was dominated by the towering glass of City Hall to the North. Judy had stopped just before the precinct's steps to admire the grandiose rotunda, which seemed serene despite the chaotic movement of animals in all directions. She was so preoccupied that she almost hadn't noticed Nick holding one of the station's doors open for her, still balancing the donut box.

"Coming, Carrots?" Nick called. Judy's ears swiveled instantly back to him, as the rest of her body followed suit. Inside the building, Nick noticed a couple of his fellow officers pause their conversations to turn a curious eye to the plain-clothed rabbit following the fox, but didn't pay them any attention as he and Judy walked directly to the front desk. Clawhauser had already spotted Nick, and was waving excitedly.

"Good morning, Spots! Here you are, as promised. Thanks again, pal!" The feline accepted the box of donuts, setting them aside in favor of examining Judy. "Oh Em goodness, you really did bring along a bunny! WHAAT?" Clawhauser exclaimed, bouncing in his seat.

"Hi! Judy Hopps, nice to meet you!"

"I have to say, you're even cuter than I thought you'd be!"

Judy looked stung, her ears dropping awkwardly as she winced. "Ooh... You probably didn't know, but, a bunny can call another bunny 'cute', but when other animals do it, it's a little..."

Clawhauser was aghast. "Oh! I am so sorry! Me, Benjamin Clawhauser, the guy everyone thinks is just a flabby, donut-loving cop, stereotyping you..."

Finally, Nick interjected to waylay the uncomfortable exchange. "Well Carrots, I think we should be going. Thanks again for the legwork, Spots, enjoy the donuts!" Judy waved politely at the embarrassed cheetah, hopping along after Nick down a hallway.

"Anyway, welcome to the Zootopia Police Department, Precinct One! First stop for all officers at the beginning of their shifts is the briefing room, where we're going right now. Everyone just calls it 'The Bullpen', it's where you get your assignment for the day."

Inside the briefing room, the usual clamor was in full swing. The scene was a little surprising to Judy, who had never seen so many large mammals in one place before. Nick was a little larger than she was, but even he, who had seemed larger than life the first time she met him, was dwarfed by the wolves, rams, large felines, bears, and especially the rhino, hippo, and elephant officers. They were quite a sight as they all argued, boasted, arm-wrestled, and otherwise antagonized each other.

Nick gestured to a chair that was far too big for either of them, behind a massive table next to rhino officer McHorn. Judy clambered up onto the seat, and Nick sat next to her with room to spare. "Easy there Carrots," Nick soothed, observing Judy's mildly tense posture, "everyone here is harmless. We're all on the same team."

She was going to offer an indignant retort, but just then the door swung open again and an extraordinarily muscular and imposing cape buffalo wearing a superior officer's stars burst into the room, a scowl on his face; his eyes immediately fixated on Nick, who had folded his arms on the table and was looking back innocently.

"WILDE!" he roared, eyes darting for a split second to the civilian rabbit beside the fox. "A moment in my office. Now." Chief Bogo gestured sharply to the open doorway. Nick turned to Judy as he dismounted the chair, winking at her as he said "just stay right here, I won't be long." As he exited the room, the chief pulled the door shut behind them.

Bogo's hushed tone did little to hide the irritation in his voice. "Just when were you planning on telling me you were bringing a tiny little bunny out on a ride-along?"

How an animal could look so sincerely apologetic and yet wholly self-satisfied was a mystery to all, but Nick managed to pull it off. "With all due respect Chief, I dropped all the right paperwork off with Clawhauser last week. It should have been on your desk before you got here today."

The chief made a deliberate show of searching his inbox for the document which he already knew was not there. "Nothing here, Wilde. Now you're going to get back there and tell that rabbit you've made a mistake and you'll have to reschedule. As for you, l would like nothing more than to stick you back on parking duty for this little stunt, but I've got a lot of pressure from City Hall and private citizens alike to find the slew of mammals that have gone missing, and I need all paws on deck.

Nick's tail twitched anxiously, the prospect of having to crush Judy's excitement and send her home was not appealing at all. "I can't do that to her Chief, she's looked forward to this opportunity forever. I can handle her, it's just a routine investigation..."

"I. Don't. Care." Bogo hissed, "I need you out there with your full attention, whatever little of it there is to begin with. I can't have you sidetracked trying to babysit and play tour guide. Even if you DID have the paperwork, which you DON'T..."

"Actually, that would be my fault. I'm so sorry!" interrupted a meek voice from the doorway. It belonged to a tiny, bespectacled white sheep wearing a casual business dress. The wool on her head reached far above her actual height like a tuft of cotton candy. She was holding a sealed manila envelope, which she scurried to place on the chief's desk. "That was supposed to come over here yesterday, I just got so busy! Really, really sorry." The sheep's speech was punctuated by several fits of nervous laughter. "I hope I didn't cause you any trouble!"

"Assistant Mayor Bellwether!" exclaimed the chief, his facial features instantly softening into something resembling a kind smile. "You didn't have to come all the way down here yourself, really." He opened the envelope, which predictably contained Nick's approved ride-along request for Judy.

"Oh, yeah, well, Mayor Lionheart heard that his first fox cop was bringing another small mammal along who was interested in the ZPD, and he wanted me to make sure she felt welcome! He is SO happy that his Mammal Inclusion Initiative is paying off. I found her back in the briefing room when I went looking for you, she is just beside herself getting to go on a ride-along! Really great, really. Officer Wilde, you take care now!" She zipped straight back out the door as quickly as she had appeared, and was gone before either Nick or Bogo could fully process what had just happened.

The chief set the envelope back down on his desk, his voice a low growl as he addressed Nick again. "I feel like I don't need to tell you what happens if you can't handle yourself today," he said. For once, Nick decided not to press his luck with a smart remark, turning his back to leave as quickly as possible so the buffalo couldn't see the enormous smirk he was wearing.

Judy was bubbling with excitement when Nick rejoined her in the Bullpen. "Nick! You'll never guess who I just met. The assistant mayor of Zootopia! She was looking for you and the chief. Did she find you?"

"Yeah, she did! Just in time, too," Nick said as he climbed back onto the chair, which was scooted a little further to the left than he remembered leaving it...

"Oh good. She was really nice, she said I have a friend in City Hall! What did the chief want you for, anyway?"

"Nothing to worry about, just some paperwork. Pretty normal. Ready?" Judy nodded.

 _"ATTEN-HUT!"_ called Officer Higgins from the front of the room as the chief returned. All side conversations stopped, and the whole force's attention turned to the lectern where Bogo stood. "Alright everyone, first thing's first. Officer Wilde has a 'Plus One' today, who I should introduce, but I won't because I don't care." Several of the other officers in the room snickered, and Judy looked a little shocked at the unprovoked animosity.

"Priority one is the missing mammal cases. We are up to 14, and City Hall is RIGHT up my tail to find them. If you were assigned one last week, get back to it." All but a couple of the officers took their leave. After they had cleared, Bogo continued. "Right then Wilde, this one should be easy enough even for you. Emmitt Otterton, reported missing ten days ago by his wife. You found yourself a tiny little bunny, now go find a tiny little otter. Clawhauser will give you the complete case file."

"What is _his_ problem?" Judy asked as she trailed behind Nick in the hallway.

"The chief? He's just like that. Don't take it personally, he does the same thing to any newcomers."

"Not about introducing me, I meant how he was talking to you," Judy said, concern showing on her face.

Nick smiled back at her. "Don't mind that either. It's fine, really, he's just never really liked me since I was assigned to this precinct by the mayor without his approval. He doesn't think I can handle being the smallest mammal on the force, but I've been proving him wrong and I'm going to keep on doing it." They had made it back to the front desk, and Nick turned to Clawhauser. "Hey again Spots, you've got a case file for me?"

"The Otterton case? Yeah, one second, I just need to sign it out to you..." the cheetah trailed off as he typed Nick's information into his computer. Then the corners of his mouth dropped into a frown. "Uh, Nick, you're locked out of the system!"

"What? Why would I be locked out? Is this the chief messing with me?" he demanded.

"No, his ID isn't on it. Actually, there isn't any ID on it! It's probably just a mistake, maybe someone hit a wrong button when they were doing your ride-along application over at City Hall. I'll have it looked into. You're not going to be able to access any ZPD resources for a while though, sorry about that!"

Nick sighed, his nose dropping momentarily to point at the floor. "It's not your fault Spots. Can I have the file?"

"Yeah," Clawhauser said as he pulled the hard copy from his cabinet, opening the cover before presenting it to Nick. Only a single sheet of paper was pinned inside. "Wow, that has to be the smallest case file I've ever seen!" he said in surprise on seeing the contents. "At least you got a picture, but no leads, and now no resources! Geez Nick, best of luck..."

Nick took the file from the desk, closing the cover and tucking it under an arm. "Thanks for the moral support big guy, you're the best!"

* * *

In the lot outside waited Nick's police cruiser. He unlocked the doors and put the underweight case file into the console. "So, where do we start?" Judy asked, her eager smile back, as she opened the passenger door and began climbing into the car.

"Wait just one sec Carrots," Nick said, hitting the button to open the trunk. He removed two items and walked around to the other side where Judy was waiting with a puzzled look. "First, you'll have to wear this. Department policy and all that." He handed her a small protective vest, the same shade of navy blue as his own uniform. It matched surprisingly well with her other clothing. Judy accepted the garment with gusto, eagerly putting it on and checking her reflection in the car's side mirror.

"Awesome! It fits perfectly," she said, answering the question Nick's eyes were asking.

"Great! Now you're gonna need one of these..." Nick smirked mischievously as he produced a golden, badge-shaped sticker that read "Junior ZPD Officer", peeled it from its backing, and slapped it onto the left side of Judy's vest.

"Oh, har-har," she said, rolling her eyes. "Very funny. _Now_ are we ready?"

"I think that's got it!" Nick said brightly, green eyes alight as he returned to the driver's seat and started the cruiser.

"So, just where do you even start when you have a case like that? No information to work with at all, just a picture of the missing mammal?"

"Well, there is really only one thing to do," Nick replied as he maneuvered onto the roadway. "You go to where the mammal was last spotted, and start canvassing the area looking for anyone who might have seen anything and can give you information like where they went, anybody who was with them, or even just what direction they were headed so you can retrace their path."

"That sure sounds tedious," Judy said. "So, do we know where this Mr. Otterton was last spotted?"

"I have a pretty good idea of where that picture was taken, yeah. It's just a little ways south of here, close to Little Rodentia."

"But... We're heading east," Judy observed, raising an eyebrow.

Nick slowed the car to a stop at a red light, turning to look at the bunny. "Yeah, I thought we would take the scenic route, so you can see more of the city. It's not much of a ride-along if you're not riding along, right?"

"I guess so, but won't they be angry that you're using department time like this?"

"Did you see the timestamp on that picture? It was taken closer to noon. If we go there around the same time, we have a better chance of finding someone who was there when Otterton was. So, technically, I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing! It's called a hustle, sweetheart."

Judy pulled the file from where Nick had placed it; he was right, the time on the picture was 11:48 AM. "Clever fox," she admitted. Nick just grinned out the windshield as he continued driving.

"Nick, there's been something I wanted to ask you," Judy said, adopting a more serious tone. One of Nick's ears turned to her. "Ask away," he replied.

"This weekend, when you came all the way out to Bunnyburrow to visit, just to see me. You didn't have to do that. I mean, we have phones in the country too, you could have just called to talk to me. Why take all the time to drive out there?"

Nick was suddenly very glad he was driving and already had an excuse to not be making eye contact, because right then he would have broken it. What was he supposed to tell her?

Judy continued, "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did. I had a wonderful time getting to talk to you one-on-one, and it was a great distraction from the busy week I was having at the farm. It just seems like a lot of trouble for you to go through."

The fox let out a barely audible sigh; there was no getting around a pointed question like that, even for him. Not without completely blowing it off. He paused for just a moment before answering, mentally preparing himself. "Last week, when I was sent out there on assignment, and I met you the first time," he began, the words coming laboriously.

"After that day, I started to have this weird, instinctive feeling. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but then I started realizing it was about you. I still don't even know what it was supposed to mean, I just felt like it was important that I saw you again, like I was meant to. I don't believe in destiny or anything like that, but I know there wasn't anywhere else I would rather have been that night."

Judy's eyes were gradually widening as Nick talked, and finally she felt her face heat up and had to look away from him, even though he was focused on the road and not looking back. She started to say something, just to acknowledge she had been listening, but no words would come. A rush of emotions had stolen her vocabulary, she hadn't consciously considered the possibility that the fox she thought of as a role model and hero could think much of her in return. Yet, in the back of her mind, she always knew there was something Nick wasn't telling her up front. Several seconds of awkward silence passed as her head swam.

Before she was even aware her own body had moved, one of her paws was sneaking towards Nick's orange-furred forearm on the center console. She wasn't sure if it was trying to embrace the fox or punch him, but she stopped the rogue appendage before she could find out.

"Nick... I..." Judy finally mustered. "I've probably said it enough times, but I really am glad we met."

Taking a deep breath, Nick snapped his mind back to the present, and reached a paw over to ruffle Judy's ears playfully. "I'm glad we met too, Carrots. Hey, check this out now! We're about to drive past the wall between Tundra Town and Sahara Square. The whole thing is this huge heat exchanger, it takes every last bit of energy from the arctic side and blows it out over the desert. It's pretty amazing."

But Judy wasn't paying attention to what was outside, the heat hadn't subsided from her face and she couldn't bring herself to look up. She wished for a second she could get out and stand behind one of the vents on the Tundra Town side. Rather than continue to stare at her own knees, she opened the case file she was still holding and looked down at the picture of Mr. Otterton.

The picture was incredibly sharp for being a screenshot from a surveillance camera, it was even in full color. She marveled at how she could make out the words printed on whatever item the otter was holding. "Meowana..." she mumbled, reading the text out loud.

"What was that, Carrots?" Nick asked, peeking over to see what she was doing.

"Oh nothing, it just looks like Mr. Otterton is holding a movie case, but that movie doesn't come out until later this year! I was planning on seeing it."

The tires squealed as Nick hauled the cruiser to a halt on the side of the road. "What? Let me see that..." He said as he grabbed the file.

"Nick, what is it?" Judy asked, flustered by his sudden shift.

"You're right, that's what. You are a clever bunny. That is some of Weaselton's work!" He jabbed a claw into the photo for emphasis.

"Who is Weaselton?"

"Duke Weaselton. He's a small-time hustler, and he sometimes works the area right around where this picture was taken." Nick continued scanning over the picture intently. "Look!" he exclaimed, indicating a figure near the corner of the image. "There he is, leaving the scene."

"You know this weasel?"

"Of course, I know everybody. We used to bump into each other once in a while in my old life. We've got to find that fuzzy noodle, I bet he knows where Otterton went!"

Once again the screech of rubber against asphalt could be heard as Nick gunned the engine, flicking the switch for the lights and siren as he did.

"Well, Carrots, I guess your ride-along just got a lot more exciting!" Nick yelled over the siren's wail.

* * *

By the time they arrived near the location from the picture, Nick had slowed down considerably and shut off the emergency signals to remain inconspicuous. He didn't want Weaselton getting spooked. After a careful glance around the area, Nick chose a parking spot off the main road and got out of the car, with Judy close behind.

"So now what," she asked, a purposeful and determined look in her eye as she stepped out to follow Nick.

"Now, the real police work begins," Nick said, putting on his sunglasses. In one paw, he held a recent photo of Mr. Otterton that his wife had provided as well as a ZPD black-and-white mugshot of Weaselton. "Same plan as before, we canvas the area looking for anyone who might recognize Mr. Otterton. Except now, we're also looking for a weasel. I'll be making approaches, as my junior officer I'll need you to keep an eye out around me for anything suspicious."

Nick locked the car, and together he and Judy began walking up the street towards the photo's location. "Suspicious like how?" Judy asked.

"Just look out for anyone that is giving us funny looks or anything while I'm talking to the mammals around here. Staring at us while talking on the phone, or anything like that. If you see something, don't stare back. Let me know discreetly, maybe with a paw sign or something."

The bunny saluted an affirmative, her eyes on the back of the fox's triangular, brown ears again as she followed him down the sidewalk. Inwardly she was very proud of herself for helping to discover such an important clue for Nick's investigation, and the smile on her face showed it. She was finally getting to do what she had always dreamed!

Though Nick hadn't said much about it other than calling Judy a clever bunny, he was secretly very impressed that she had managed to find something he himself had overlooked. That feeling was tugging on his mind again, and though he didn't show it he was awestruck that his instinct about her had turned out to be right. _"This bunny might actually have a knack for police work..."_ he thought.

Nick seemed at ease in his questioning of every animal he passed, despite the new imperative driving him. To Judy, it really did look like he knew everyone; he approached each new mammal like an old friend, beginning casual conversation and bringing up his investigation almost as an afterthought. His mannerisms put everyone at ease, and she noticed that Nick barely had to put any effort into coaxing out information other officers may have struggled to obtain. Truly a master at work.

Unfortunately, despite all his charm, he had only found a handful of mammals who had even remembered seeing Otterton, and even among them none had recalled any useful details. Nobody was able to positively identify the weasel. More than two hours of dead ends had left the pair somewhat drained.

"I can't believe that NOBODY has seen that weasel!" Judy said, releasing a deep sigh. "He was right there in the picture, somebody has to have seen where he went!"

"Sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles. It's a good lesson on police work for you, things aren't always going to go your way."

"I thought we were SO CLOSE after we found that clue in the picture, though," she said through gritted teeth, lowering her head.

"Chin up, Carrots," Nick soothed, smiling reassuringly at her. A sign in the window behind them caught his eye; they were standing in front of a small ice cream parlor. "Tell you what, you just wait here. You deserve a break after all this pavement pounding. I'll only be a minute." Judy nodded, and he disappeared inside the shop.

The rabbit took a seat at one of the outside tables, savoring the opportunity to take the weight off her paws. It was a perfectly clear day, with just a slight breeze. Judy had never imagined the great city could seem so calm...

 _BANG._ A door crashed open behind Judy's back. Her head bolted around to see what had caused the noise just in time to see a pig wearing an apron run out the door, stopping just outside the threshold. The swine looked around frantically, his eyes settling on the back of Judy's vest.

"HEY!" he called out. Judy gestured to herself questioningly. "YES, YOU! I'VE JUST BEEN ROBBED!"

"Sir, I'm n-"

"HE'S GETTING AWAY! LOOK!" the pig screamed, one hoof pointing across the road. Judy's eyes quickly followed. Just across the street, an orange duffel bag was levitating rapidly away from the flower shop.

The bag turned, and for a split second Judy locked eyes with the animal on the other side; a lithe, caramel-colored mustelid. A weasel! _That_ weasel! _WEASELTON!_

Judy's eyes went as wide as they had ever gone, and she sprang out of the chair at mach speed. "Nick! NICK!" she shouted frantically towards the neighboring shop. She couldn't see the fox in the window, there was no way of knowing if he heard her. The second her paws hit the ground, she darted off after the disappearing thief. _"I can NOT let him get away!"_ she urged herself, an intense fire in her eyes as she broke into a powerful sprint.

Nick had fought his way back to the door on hearing her shout, emerging just in time to see her vanishing across the street. In his paws were two blueberry ice cream cones. "NO! CARROTS, WAIT!" he yelled, but it was too late. He quickly unloaded the desserts on two young deer passing on the sidewalk and took off after her, a look of extreme anxiety and worry breaking through his usual smug facade.

They ran through several side streets before rejoining a main artery, the sight of a fox chasing a bunny chasing a weasel quite the spectacle for all the onlookers. Far ahead Nick saw the bag fly high up into the air, clearing the fence bordering Little Rodentia. He shouted at Judy again, the words lost to the distance. A moment later her short, fluffy tail sailed through the minute arch of masonry at the rodent district's entrance, an opening she just barely cleared; it was far too small for the fox to follow. Nick grabbed onto the fence's steel bars, helplessly crying out after the bunny.

 _"Sweet cheese and crackers,"_ he swore to himself, _"if I don't get fired over this, it will be some kind of miracle."_

* * *

 **Not much to say here! If you read this chapter when it was posted, this was where I had originally planned to end the story. I am now continuing due to overwhelming requests and positive feedback! If I haven't said it enough, thank you to all my readers. Cripes, here come the waterworks...  
**

 **~FoxStang**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


	5. Chapter 5

A series of dull thuds echoed across the pavement as a decorative rubber donut bounced over the fence bordering Little Rodentia. Imprisoned in its center was an unkempt caramel-colored weasel wearing a torn white shirt. The slender criminal was looking rather dazed as he rolled to a halt in front of Nick who stopped the faux pastry with a paw, causing Weaselton to fall over onto his head. An orange gym bag followed the weasel's trajectory shortly after, its flight halted before it could hit the ground as it was caught expertly by a bunny wearing an enormous, triumphant grin.

"I popped the weasel!" Judy exclaimed, her smile fading as she caught the pained look on Nick's face. "What? Isn't that the weasel we're looking for?"

"It's over, Carrots," Nick said somberly, "they're going to fire me as soon as I get back to the station."

"What? Why? We caught the bad guy, isn't that what we're supposed to do?"

"That's what _I'm_ supposed to do, I'm the cop; you're still a citizen under my protection. I wasn't supposed to let you leave my side, especially to run off chasing a lowlife who stole..." he reached over to take the bag, opening it to inspect the contents, "some throw-outs from the produce department." Nick's muzzle wrinkled at the pungent, earthy scent eking out from within the duffel.

"Actually, those are the bulb of a crocus varietal, _Midnicampum Holicithias._ It's a Class C botanical..." Judy offered, matter-of-factly.

"It doesn't matter, gold bars, wads of cash, _Midni_ -whatever you said, you're not a sworn police officer! You just falsely arrested a mammal, and from the sound of things you just stirred up some big trouble in Little Rodentia. Even if you WERE a cop, you'd probably be fired."

Judy's ears drooped remorsefullly as Nick's words sank in. "Nick... I'm sorry! I saw Weaselton getting away, then the store owner was yelling at me to do something, and I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't let him escape! He's the only lead we had on your case, and..."

"I know, I get it. I would have wanted to get him right then too, but we would have caught up eventually. Ah, what a mess... What's done is done now, I guess we're stuck in this together. Might as well find out what this noodle knows."

Behind them, Weaselton had recovered from his stupor and was attempting to work himself free of the donut's embrace, his muzzle still pressed into the sidewalk. Nick righted the rubbery ring, setting the weasel back on his feet while deftly placing cuffs over his wrists in the same fluid movement. "Well what do we have here, if it isn't old Duke."

Weaselton sneered back at Nick. "What happened Wilde, it wasn't bad enough for you to turn tail and become a cop, now you're sending Cottontail here to do your dirty work?"

Nick stooped to be at eye level with the weasel. "I'll tell you what, since you're such an upstanding Zootopian citizen, I might be willing to cut you a break. See, we weren't actually looking for you, we're looking for an otter that you sold one of your perfectly legitimate movies to." He held the file photo of Emmitt Otterton up to Weaselton's face. "Seen him recently?"

Weaselton's eyes darted around suspiciously before narrowing and settling back on the fox. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. What's in it for me? You gonna cut me loose or what? You've got nothin' on me, copper-top."

"Nothing? I saw you run out of that store!" Judy spoke up, indignant. "The owner was right behind you!"

"That pig never saw my face! I was out with the goods before he knew what hit him." Suddenly the weasel's eyes went wide with realization, and he clamped his mouth shut.

Nick laughed, his eyes dancing in mockery. "Did you hear that, Carrots? That sounded like an admission of guilt!"

"I ain't admittin' nothin'!" Weaselton shrieked. "It's my word against yours."

"Actually, it's _your_ word against yours!" Judy said gleefully, producing a carrot-shaped pen from behind her back and pressing a button on the side. The pen chirped electronically as sound was played quickly in reverse.

She released the button, allowing the recording to play back. _"That pig never saw my face! I was out with the goods before he knew what hit him,"_ Weaselton's tinny voice announced proudly from the carrot pen's speaker.

Judy now wore a smirk that would have been at home on Nick's muzzle. "So, have you seen this otter or not?"

The mustelid bared his teeth and released a soft growl. "Alright already. Haven't seen him recently, but I know where he was going that day. Some kind of health club or something over in Sahara Square, called the Mystic Spring Oasis. Happy?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Nick said as he removed the fake dessert from Weaselton's midsection. With his captive in tow he and Judy began the trek back to his police cruiser.

* * *

"Reckless endangerment, inciting a scurry... but to be fair, she did stop a 'master criminal' from stealing two dozen moldy onions." Chief Bogo seethed, his sarcasm not quite able to mask his anger.

"Sir, Judy was only doing what she thought was right. That weasel was the only lead we had to follow, and..."

"SHUT IT WILDE, NOW. I had my doubts you could even handle having a ride-along during an investigation, and I warned you what would happen if you failed."

The chief had risen from his chair as he shouted, accentuating his mood and causing his considerable size advantage to become even more apparent.

The phone on the chief's desk beeped. "Hey Chief, Mrs. Otterton is here to see you," Clawhauser's voice announced over the intercom.

Bogo pressed the 'talk' button, responding simply with "not now".

The cheetah's voice came through once again, sounding slightly anxious. "Okay, well I thought maybe this time you'd..."

The chief stabbed a hoof down onto the button, roaring back at Clawhauser "NOT NOW!"

Bogo returned his gaze to Nick, poised to continue his tirade when he was interrupted yet again by the door opening. A small brown otter dressed in a knitted coat walked in, followed by Clawhauser who was doubled over and breathing heavily from exertion. "Sorry chief, I tried to stop her," he panted, "she is super slippery! I'm gonna go..."

As Clawhauser lumbered back out of the doorway, Mrs. Otterton continued her advance towards the chief's desk, her paws clasped in front of her chest as she aimed a pleading gaze at the buffalo. "Please, Chief Bogo, my husband has been missing for ten days! His name is Emmitt Otterton. There has to be someone who can find him!"

Nick turned in his seat, looking down at the otter. "Actually, I..." he started.

"MRS. OTTERTON," the chief interjected, loudly enough to cut off his vulpine subordinate, "if you'll give us just a moment, we have an important conversation to finish. I'll be with you soon, please wait right outside." Bogo had risen from his chair, and was motioning the otter back towards the doorway. She lowered her eyes and acquiesced to the request, stepping silently across the threshold once more. The door clicked shut gently behind her.

"Now, where were we," the chief huffed as his eyes lost their feigned calm once more. "Oh right, your utter failure to maintain proper supervision over a civilian in your custody."

"Sir, she only wanted to help with my investigation! She uncovered a huge lead..."

Nick was silenced once again by a positively venomous glare as Bogo thrust his horned head closer to the fox. "Do you think the mayor asked what _I_ wanted when he approved that rabbit's application to be here to cause trouble in the first place? I don't care what she wanted, she just racked up quite the little list of offenses under your watch. And for that, you're fired. Consider yourselves lucky I'm not having either of you detained."

"I can't just stop now, we made a break in the case! If that lead runs cold, we might never be able to find Mr. Otterton." Nick protested.

"I don't care. You're finished, so let it go. Now get out of my office, and you can be the one to tell that otter there isn't anyone left to take her case."

Before Bogo could reach the handle, the door opened again from the outside. A white sheep tottered through the entry, her cloven hands tapping furiously on her phone, pausing to look up cheerily at the chief. "I just heard from Miss Hopps that Officer Wilde is taking the case! Mayor Lionheart is going to be JAZZED!" Bellwether beamed, before resuming the percussive tapping on her smartphone's screen.

"Oh, there's really no need to tell the mayor just yet..." Bogo said as he tried to divert the sheep's attention.

"And I sent it, and it's sent, so I did do that," she droned absentmindedly as she finished the message, before returning the device to a pocket. "Anyway, I better get going. It's a busy day over at city hall!" Bellwether turned to face Mrs. Otterton. "Don't you worry, I'm sure Officer Wilde will find your husband in no time."

As the assistant mayor skittered out, the otter rushed forward and caught Nick in a firm embrace. "Bless you, fox." she breathed into his chest. Nick was frozen with a stunned look on his face. "Find him, find my Emmitt." She released the other predator and left the room once again.

When Nick dared to look back at the chief he was expectedly met by an intense glare, but also noticed the cape buffalo's pointed glances at Judy. Taking their meaning, he turned to her as well. "Say Carrots, why don't you wait in the lobby for me, maybe keep Clawhauser company for a minute. He gets lonely."

Judy swiveled her head, and was about to ask why when she saw the chief trying to set Nick's pointy ears on fire from behind with the sheer force of his anger. "Uhh, sure. I'll just be out there," she said, shutting the door behind her on the way out.

Chief Bogo looked like he was about to burst for a second, a vein bulging in his substantial neck, before finally he released a deep sigh. "I'll give you forty-eight hours. That's TWO DAYS to find Emmitt Otterton."

Nick's shoulders dropped in relief, he hadn't realized just how much tension they had been holding. "Thank you chief, that's all the time I need. I..."

"BUT," the chief roared, "you strike out, you resign."

* * *

Dusk was quickly settling in over Savanna Central as Nick and Judy left the ZPD precinct building. The city around them was beginning its nightly light show, the cascade of multitudinous colors a stark contrast to the mood between the pair. Judy, who had wanted desperately to see the spectacle up close, now found herself staring instead at Nick's tail as it swayed in front of her while she tried to come up with something to say. The fox had likewise been silent since leaving the chief's office, lost in his thoughts as he reflected on the day's events.

 _What was I even thinking, bringing her all the way here?_ Nick wondered to himself. _Weird dreams or no weird dreams, it can't have been worth all this..._

Judy closed the gap between them and took position by Nick's side, looking up at his face. He hadn't returned the look, whatever emotions laid behind the predator's green eyes masked with practiced perfection by a pensive forward stare as he padded down the sidewalk.

"Well, you've still got your badge!" Judy observed optimistically, forcing a bright smile up at Nick. His eyes momentarily met hers, but his expression didn't change. All she got for the effort was a slight twitching of the fox's ears.

"So... You're not fired? You're still an officer?" she persisted, continuing to look at Nick expectantly.

"Am I?" Nick asked facetiously, casting a look of mock surprise at the burnished brass shield on his chest. "Yes, yes I am. For two more days anyway." He resumed his fixation on the street ahead.

Judy's face adopted a concerned look. "Two days? Why is that?"

"Well, I was just going to be canned right then and there, but I guess you could say I was saved by the Bellwether. After she showed up and told Mrs. Otterton and the mayor that I was working this investigation, the chief gave me an ultimatum – crack the case in 48 hours, or I'm out."

Two long, gray ears went aloft once more as Judy's expression brightened. "That's great! Now that we know where Otterton went, that should be easy. What are we waiting for? We should be heading there now!"

"'We?' Where's this 'we' coming from? _I_ should be heading there now. But whoopsie, they're closed for the night. Double whoopsie, solving this one case won't change anything. I may have gotten lucky today, but after this the chief will be looking for any reason to get rid of me. And whoopsie number threesie, I've got a dumb bunny with me who needs to catch a train first thing in the morning."

Judy stopped in her tracks, eyes narrowing as her tiny pink nose began twitching. "I am NOT a dumb bunny!" she declared firmly, a hint of anger in her voice. Nick stopped as well upon hearing her voice further behind him, and turned around to face her.

"Really? Because that's not what breaking ride-along rules to chase a criminal through a size-restricted city borough tells me," Nick said with a disinterested look.

"I am really, truly sorry for how things ended up today, okay? All I wanted to do was help you, I never meant to cause so much trouble. You know I'd never want you to lose your job!" The bunny's words quavered slightly, her nose twitching ever faster.

Nick closed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, Carrots, I know. Look, it's probably best we both head home. You've got a very early train to catch, and it seems like tomorrow is going to be a long day for me. Where is home for you tonight, anyway?"

"I've got a hotel room reserved, it's not far," Judy replied plainly.

Nick turned to continue strolling down the sidewalk, a slight motion of his head indicating he expected the rabbit to follow suit. "I'll walk you there. Is it the Grand Zootopian?" Judy nodded as she resumed walking by Nick's side.

"That was a nice little hustle you pulled on Weaselton with that recorder pen," Nick said after a pause. "Which reminds me, I'll need to borrow that for evidence." Judy removed the carrot-shaped instrument from her pocket and offered it to Nick. He took it gingerly, rolling it around in his paw for a moment before clipping it to his belt and saying "thanks, I'll get it back to you somehow."

The pair walked on without a word. Judy had taken to staring at the pavement, her ears drooped forward almost as if to hide her embarrassed face from her vulpine counterpart. Meanwhile, Nick was frequently glancing down at the top of her head, still upset but also sympathetic, though outwardly he was showing neither. After all, the chief was right. What had happened could have been avoided if he hadn't left Judy alone, and he knew it.

The hotel where Judy was staying wasn't far at all, they arrived no more than ten minutes later. Judy removed the protective vest she had been wearing over her clothes, holding it up to Nick. "Here," she said softly, "this is ZPD property, I better give it back."

Nick looked down at the garment, noticing a gold sticker still on its front. He shook his head, pushing it back towards her. "That's alright, you keep it. It will be a good souvenir at least. Are you okay getting to the train station in the morning?"

"Yeah, I know where it is. Nick..." Judy started.

Nick held up a paw. "You don't need to say it, Carrots. Just try to get some rest. Have a safe trip home, if I'm ever back out in Bunnyburrow again maybe I'll come visit."

Before he could react, Nick found himself being squeezed powerfully as Judy hugged his midsection. He was left with a stunned look on his face as the bunny disappeared through the hotel's doors just as quickly without a word.

* * *

Outside the window of Judy's lofty hotel room, the city beneath was soundless. The lights were as spectacular as ever, the heartbeat of the animal metropolis blissfully unaware of the troubles of a certain fox and bunny. Judy took a moment to appreciate the scene she had dreamed of for so long before throwing herself down on the bed out of frustration with herself over what had happened that day.

She got back up long enough to throw a frozen meal into the microwave for dinner, watching it rotate on the turntable inside as she did battle with her own thoughts.

 _It was going so well,_ she pondered with a sigh. _Why did I have to chase that weasel?_

The microwave beeped, and Judy removed the meal tray. Peeling back the lid, she was greeted with a rather pathetic, withered single carrot. Rolling her eyes in disgust, she dropped the whole tray into the trash can and resigned herself to go to bed without dinner.

On the desk by the window, Judy's phone started ringing. She trudged over to it, and saw on the screen that it was a MuzzleTime call from her parents.

 _Great..._ she thought. _Just what I need right now._

* * *

Back at his apartment, the dark blue fabric of Nick's police uniform felt unusually heavy as he removed it, as if it were bearing the incarnate weight of his stress and concealed emotions; he immediately felt more relaxed as his orange and cream fur was once again allowed to breathe as it was naturally intended. Picking up the remote control, Nick turned on the TV as he went to retrieve some juice from the fridge. Inside he found the sack of fresh blueberries Judy had brought him; he had forgotten about them since that morning. Seeing the round fruits caused the memory of how he had met Judy in the first place to resurface.

 _What is it about her?_ Nick asked himself. _Even after all that trouble today, I just can't stay mad at that bunny. I might even miss her after she leaves in the morning._

Nick seated himself to unwind for the night, tossing a couple blueberries into his mouth. _Oh, who am I kidding, I won't miss her._

 _Because she's not leaving in the morning._

* * *

 **By popular demand, the story continues! Thank you all for the outpouring of support I received after initially saying I was going to end with Chapter 4.**

 **You wouldn't believe how much time I spent agonizing over this chapter. I had almost published it more than a day ago, but there were things that weren't sitting right with me and I ended up rewriting huge chunks of it.**

 **I'm looking forward to the rest of this ride, I hope you are too!**

 **~FoxStang**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


	6. Chapter 6

Golden light filtered in behind the heavy curtains of a hotel room as the sun rose over downtown Zootopia, making the outline of a small gray bunny visible as she lay on a bed that was a size or two too big. From the bedside table, a phone chimed and vibrated as its alarm clock went off. The supine mammal immediately reached a paw over and shut it off, having already been awake for some time.

Ordinarily Judy was quite the morning bunny, as was expected growing up on a farm, and would have long since been awake and prepared to greet the day with enthusiasm. But today she just wasn't feeling it.

 _How did things go so wrong yesterday?_ She lamented. _You dreamed of coming here for so long, and to finally get the chance to be here with Officer Wilde... And what do you do? Get yourself in trouble and almost get him fired, just because you couldn't stop yourself from being a dumb bunny..._

Despite being alone with no one to see her, she pulled her ears over her face in shame. After a couple moments of screaming internally at herself, Judy sat up on the edge of the bed. _Might as well get up, you DO have a train to catch,_ she begrudgingly conceded. _The sooner you get home, the sooner you can try to forget about everything._

She went through the motions of dressing herself very robotically, wishing she had packed a more casual outfit; the dark leggings and blue shirt too closely resembled the navy of a ZPD uniform, and only made her think of Nick again. _I didn't even give him a proper goodbye. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance?_

Judy drew back the curtains, fully illuminating the room so she could make sure she had collected all of her belongings. The ZPD vest had been cast aside next to the entryway, she considered leaving it behind but decided against it; the hotel would just mail it back to her anyway. She tucked it under an arm and left the room.

The lobby of the Grand Zootopian Hotel was a beautiful sight to behold, the floor which appeared to be a solid slab of quartz-flaked granite causing the sound of several fountains to echo thunderously, dampened only slightly by the lush, well-pruned foliage. Just another one of many sights Judy would have marveled at were she not so emotionally encumbered.

"Checking out, Miss Hopps?" asked the concierge, a professionally-dressed deer, as Judy approached the front desk. She was slightly surprised the young buck had remembered her name, but guessed bunnies were uncommon enough as hotel guests that she stood out. Either that or his memory was just that good.

"Yes, I am," she said, passing her key card across the equally lavish marble countertop.

"Excellent," responded the cervine, "and how was your stay? Did you sleep well?"

Judy forced a smile. "Just great, thank you," she lied; she had slept only fitfully and sporadically, though it wasn't the fault of the wonderfully plush mattress or 800-thread-count linens.

The concierge bowed slightly. "Glad to hear it. Will you be requiring shuttle service this morning?"

She nodded at the buck. "That would be great, I need to get to the tr-"

"Actually, I think she'll be okay," said a familiar voice behind Judy's back. She turned and found herself looking at the comfortably smiling face of Nick Wilde.

"Nick...?" she said, stunned.

"Good morning, Carrots," he hummed softly, before waving a dismissal at the concierge. He turned his voluminous tail towards Judy, replaced his sunglasses, and clasped his forepaws behind the small of his back before sauntering towards the door. "Coming?" he asked, turning his head slightly back in the general direction of the immobilized rabbit.

She picked up her dropped jaw and scooped up her possessions before skipping up to join the navy-clad canid as he strode through the hotel's ornate doorway and onto the street. "Wait!" she called. "Nick... Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?"

"Well, silly me, with all the excitement yesterday I forgot that I still needed you to give your official statement on what happened immediately leading up to the arrest of one Duke Weaselton. Before you leave town, I need you to come with me and take care of that." Nick said easily without breaking stride.

"Shouldn't you be continuing your investigation on the missing mammal case?" Judy asked, a puzzled look on her face. "I mean, by now you only have, what, thirty-six hours left?"

"That sounds about right," Nick replied, seeming just as aloof as before. "And yes, I am continuing that investigation. I was just on my way to the location we got yesterday."

"Wait, we're not going to the police station? Surely you don't want me to keep following you around at this Mystic Spring Oasis, whatever that is?" Judy said, looking at Nick a little more intently.

Nick cocked his head to the side. "Well, I guess you _could,_ if you really, _really_ wanted to... But it's not exactly a place for a cute little bunny."

"Don't call me cute." Judy said, with firmness but also a hint of amusement as she began to realize what was happening. "Well, if I'm going to have to take time to give you an official statement, I'll have to cancel my train ticket. It leaves in just half an hour."

"Already done, Fluff, I called them this morning," Nick said, flicking his tail.

"You planned this whole thing, didn't you, Slick?" accused Judy, planting her heels and giving Nick a wry grin.

The fox stopped as well, whipping the mirrored shades off his face and placing his paws on his knees as he did an about-face. He thrust his nose within an inch of hers, and gave her a wink. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart."

Judy beamed back at the smug vulpine. "I didn't think you'd want to have anything more to do with me after yesterday."

"Well, at first I didn't. But what happened wasn't _entirely_ your fault. Besides, it's not like I can be in any more trouble. I might as well let my junior detective finish her ride-along." Nick stopped in front of a three-wheeled, open-cab cart adorned with ZPD livery parked on the street, gesturing for Judy to get in. "Your ride, madam."

"What's this? What happened to your car?" Judy asked, surprised.

"Like I said, I couldn't really be in any more trouble." Nick answered. "Technically, I'm on parking duty. So we get to take the joke-mobile."

"They expect you to write parking tickets while you search for Otterton?" Judy frowned. "That's hardly fair."

Nick momentarily adopted a bitter look. "Yeah, well, the chief doesn't really expect me to be able to make this 48-hour deadline, either. I'll just have to prove him wrong. Let's go! And you can go ahead and put that vest back on."

The cart's engine sputtered to life, protesting heavily as Nick pushed on the accelerator pedal and turned in the direction of Sahara Square.

* * *

The Mystic Spring Oasis sat just inside the boundary of Zootopia's desert district. It was encircled by a decorative stucco wall perforated with arched windows too high up for any mammal to see through, while a heavy wooden door guarded its sole entry; the whole structure had clearly weathered many a desert sandstorm. The main door towered several feet over Nick and Judy's heads, clearly sized for the city's largest inhabitants. Even above that hung a painted sign with the establishment's name written in a curvy serif script. A smaller door more appropriate to mammals of their size was inset at the bottom, and it creaked slightly as Nick pushed it inward.

As the door swung back, the pungent aroma of exotic incense washed over the pair. Light inside was sparse, what little illumination there was came mainly from a small skylight in the center of the foyer's ceiling and a circular pane of stained glass in the wall behind the room's sole occupant, a yak sitting in the lotus position on a dais behind the front desk. Steps across the room were muted by a thick, ornate rug that spanned the floor, meeting up with similarly patterned tapestries hung from the walls.

A buzzing emanated from the cross-legged bovine, whose wild mane was twisted into dreadlocks that obscured everything above his nose except for the tips of his horns. As Judy got closer, she could see the source of the noise; at least a hundred flies were orbiting the yak's cranium, but he was also humming a meditative 'om' which was increasing in volume as he sat oblivious to the approach of the two smaller mammals.

"Hey... You awake, buddy?" Nick spoke up softly, his voice drowned out by a further crescendo of humming. Judy stepped forward to the counter, ears perked up high as she looked curiously at the yak. Nick tried to speak up once again, "hey there Yax, just have a quick question for you."

 _Wow, maybe Nick really does know everybody,_ Judy thought to herself on hearing Nick utter the name. She was going to ask him about it, but then Yax raised his cloven hands and parted the hair from in front of his eyes, causing the local insects to take flight. He looked down in front of him with a droopy, easygoing expression and caught sight of the bunny that had pushed up to the counter. "Hi!" Judy said with a slight wave on making eye contact.

"Oh, I'm gonna hit the pause button right there," Yax droned in a voice that sounded like a continuation of his hum. "We're all good on Bunny Scout cookies."

"Uhhh, no..." Judy said, her smile dropping into a more neutral expression.

From behind, Nick pushed down Judy's ears to make himself visible. "Actually, she's with me," he interjected, "we're here on ZPD business. We're looking for an otter that may have frequented this establishment." Nick passed the picture of Otterton.

Yax took the photo, and as he looked it over his eyes grew a touch wider. "Ohhh..." he said, as Judy began smiling again. "...CHOOOO!" The yak sneezed powerfully, causing his whole head to shake which momentarily scattered a cloud of flying insects.

"Oh yeah, old Emmitt!" Yax said, regaining his composure as a large fraction of the bug population endeavored to reclaim their homes within the yak's shaggy mane. "Haven't seen him in a couple of weeks. You should talk to his yoga instructor, I can take you out back."

Judy looked back at Nick expecting a response, but the fox simply gestured her forward to take the lead, a somewhat disconcerting smirk on his face. She turned back to Yax, who had stepped down from the dais and begun moving towards the inner door.

"Oh, yes, that would be wonderful, and..." she stopped mid-sentence, having just caught a direct view of Yax's bare posterior. "OOH you are naked!" she exclaimed, spinning around in recoil and shielding her peripheral vision with her paws.

Yax, meanwhile, was nonplussed. "Huh? Oh, for sure! We're a naturalist club," he said as he lifted the latch on the door to the courtyard.

Judy felt a hot breath across her ear as Nick spoke directly into it in a low voice; she hadn't noticed the fox sneaking so close. "Yeah, in Zootopia, anyone can be anything. These guys, they be naked."

With a heave, the heavy wooden door was pushed open and unfettered daylight once again streamed inside. Yax stepped out into the oasis, and motioned into the distance. "Nangi is just on the other side of the Pleasure Pool," he drawled.

Judy turned back to look out the open door into the afternoon sunlight, and her little jaw dropped farther than she had ever thought possible. All across the courtyard, mammals of all types were lounging around in their bare fur. A panther groomed herself with her tongue, several varieties of bear were scratching their bodies against the rough bark of palm trees; elsewhere a group of pigs wallowed in a mud pit, a rather mismatched set of opponents played volleyball, and many more mammals simply laid out on rocks to sun themselves. Throughout the club, not a shred of cloth was to be seen other than what was worn by one sly fox and dumbstruck bunny.

Once again Nick leaned in close to Judy's ear. "Does this make you uncomfortable? I warned you, Carrots." he teased with a sing-song cadence. She glared at the self-satisfied fox, and marched off after Yax. Nick watched Judy's head dart back and forth with great amusement as she would catch sight of a nude mammal and avert her gaze, only to find herself looking at yet another.

"Some say the naturalist life is weird, but you know what I think is weird? Clothes on animals!" Yax said to no one in particular as he continued on his path. On the far side of the compound past the fountain and pool, an elephant adorned with henna designs was stretched out as she led several other mammals in a yoga routine. "You see, Nangi is an elephant, so she'll _totally_ remember!" Yax said, turning back to Nick and a thoroughly mortified Judy.

"Hey Nangi," the yak called upwards. "These guys have some questions about Emmitt the otter."

The elephant unwound herself enough to look down at her coworker. "Who?"

"Uh, Emmitt Otterton? He's been coming to your yoga classes for like, six years." Yax said.

Nangi curled her trunk as she shut her eyes to prepare for another stretch. "I have no memory of this beaver."

Nick held up the picture. "Actually, he's an otter," he offered.

"Yeah, he was here a couple Wednesdays ago. He was wearing a green knit sweater and a paisley tie with a sweet windsor knot. _Real_ tight." Yax said with an approving nod. "Remember that, Nangi?"

Nick nudged Judy with an elbow, breaking her loose from her shell shock. He held a paw up to his ear to indicate he wanted her to listen to what was happening as he took a notepad from his belt and began writing in it with the carrot pen he was still carrying.

"No," the elephant harrumphed, contorting into a new pose.

Yax continued despite the unfavorable reactions from the pachyderm. "Yeah, and when he left he got into this big ol' white car with silver trim. It needed a tune-up, the third cylinder wasn't firing."

Nick tapped the babbling yak on the arm. "Hey, don't mean to stop you big guy, but I don't suppose you caught the plate number?" he said, coolly as ever.

The mammal's eyes lit up behind his scruffy locks. "Oh, for sure! It was 2-9-THD-0-3."

Judy raised an eyebrow as Nick gave her a grin before looking back up. "Thank you sir, you have been more than helpful. Really, you're too kind."

Yax turned a reverent look to the disinterested yogi. "I told you Nangi has a mind like a steel trap! I wish _I_ had a memory like an elephant..."

"All done, Carrots! We got what we came for. I'm ready to go, unless you'd like to stick around for a little while to take in the sights..." Nick said, pocketing the notebook and pen. Judy just glowered at him.

The sun was beating down from just a little further West as Nick and Judy exited the front doors of the Mystic Spring Oasis once more. Judy released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding upon seeing the empty street outside devoid of any further nudity, and glanced up at Nick.

"A warning might have been nice," she said, her voice as dry as the desert air around them.

"What, and spoil the fun?" Nick laughed. "I _did_ tell you it wasn't really a place for a bunny like you. It was another good lesson on police work anyway, you've got to expect the unexpected. You aren't just writing tickets and chasing down onion-thieving weasels every day."

Judy grumbled her reluctant agreement. "Well, you've got that plate number now anyway. Do you just call it in?"

"Yeah..." Nick said, retrieving his notebook. Then his self-confident expression faded into one of irritation as he remembered what Clawhauser had told him that morning. "...Or that's what you'd do normally. I'm still locked out of the ZPD system, so as far as resources go right now, I've pretty much got none. Spots tried to get it fixed, but he says it looked like somebody at the mayor's office locked me out by accident so he couldn't do anything."

"Aren't vehicle registrations public record? I thought any moron could run a plate," Judy said with a sarcastic head tilt.

"Are you offering?" Nick asked with a smirk. "Actually, I just remembered I have a friend at the DMV..."

* * *

 **I can't believe this story is about to break 10,000 views and 200 followers! All I can really say is thank you!**

 **~FoxStang**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


	7. Chapter 7

The Department of Mammal Vehicles was tucked away from the commotion of city center, in a quieter area near the suburbs to the south of Savanna Central. The building was a stark contrast to the grand, organic architecture and bright colors of Zootopia proper, a squatty, monolithic block of gray concrete and colorless windows topped by an equally square brown roof that bore a muted zebra-stripe design almost as an afterthought.

Nick drove the tiny meter cart past the establishment's stone sign and into the crowded parking lot, thankful for once that he wasn't in his usual ZPD cruiser as he squeezed the little three-wheeler easily into a gap between larger vehicles. With a flourish of his tail he jumped out onto the pavement, and Judy followed.

Judy caught sight of the throng of mammals waiting in a serpentine line through the glass doors, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Wow, good thing you get to skip past the crowd, right Nick?" she said with a slight chuckle. The fox just gave her a silent smirk and kept walking towards the doors.

"Oh come on Nick, tell me we don't have to wait in that line. We'll be here all day!" Judy sighed, her ears falling flat behind her head as she scowled.

"We don't have to wait in that line, Carrots," Nick said, still smirking as he walked right past the doors and rounded the corner of the building.

Judy gave him a quizzical look, one ear jaunting out to the side. "Wait... Where are you going?"

Nick turned around the back corner, his swishing tail disappearing from Judy's view momentarily before he turned and stuck his head back around too look at her. "I said I had a pal at the DMV, I never said he _worked_ here," he said with a wink.

At the rear of the building was a service alleyway, occupied by the usual objects one would expect to find in an alley - two dumpsters, a large recycle bin, and a couple of broken wooden pallets. Only one thing was out of place; in the shadow of a fence was parked a weathered, bronze-colored van with a mismatched door, adorned on its sides with a painting of a grizzled warrior canine in Nordic armor holding an arctic fox maiden in his arms.

Nick approached the van and knocked in a familiar rhythm on its back door. The sound echoed through the quiet alley, but there was no response from the vehicle. "Well, nobody's home," Nick said, turning towards the far end of the street.

"Who was _supposed_ to be home?" Judy asked, kicking aside an empty soda bottle from her path.

"Oh, just a friend. Tell you what, how about you wait right here for a minute? I think I know where he went. Just try not to chase after any more weasels while I'm gone, okay?"

The fox's sarcastic grin at the last sentence was met by a glare from Judy. Before she could respond with some choice words of her own, Nick had jumped on top of one of the dumpsters, vaulted the fence, and was sliding out of sight down a light pole on the other side.

Judy found the soda bottle again and kicked it further down the alley, pretending the plastic container was Nick's similarly-shaped muzzle and she was knocking the smug off of it. It bounced a pretty good distance, landing just beyond the corner of the building. Then the intense look left her eyes and she let out a breath as she walked over to retrieve the bottle intending to throw it in the recycle bin.

Something moved out of the corner of her eye as she bent over, and she turned her head to look. A small, tawny fox kit wearing some kind of purple onesie and suckling a pacifier was walking towards her down the side of the building. The kit froze as she made eye contact, and as Judy drew herself back up to a standing position it pulled the hood of the onesie over its face, revealing it to be an elephant costume complete with a little trunk. The kit tottered a few steps closer.

Judy smiled warmly at the costumed toddler as she approached. "Hey little fella, where are your parents? Are they inside the building?" she cooed in a higher-pitched voice.

The little vulpine-turned-pachyderm shook its head.

"Don't worry, I'll help you get back where you belong. Do you have a name?"

The kit blew twice into the trunk of the costume, causing a trumpeting 'toot' noise both times.

Judy laughed. "Okay little toot-toot, you just come with me, okay? I'll find your folks." she said, pointing back to the front of the DMV. The kit ignored her, arms stretched towards the alleyway as it wobbled onward, tooting several more times.

"Hey, wait!" she called after the tyke as it turned the corner, out of sight.

"THERE you are little guy, you had daddy worried sick!" called a voice from behind the building.

Judy looked relieved. "Oh good, sir, I just found him wandering... NICK?" she exclaimed as she once more cleared the building and saw who had spoken.

"Oh man, I thought for sure I was getting taken to Child Protective Services again!" said the costumed fox in a deep, gravelly voice as he pulled the costume's trunk from his face and spat out the pacifier. "You know this bunny, Nick?"

"Wait, you know HIM?" Judy said, utterly shocked.

"I told you, Carrots, I know everybody. But yes, I'd like you to meet Finnick. He was my partner in my old life."

Judy cautiously offered Finnick a paw, still looking very confused. "Hi, I'm Judy. Judy Hopps."

The tiny fox removed the hood, seeming to ignore the bunny as he continued looking at Nick. "Yeah, the GOOD life! Before you went and turned to the dark-blue side," he said as he turned to face Judy again, sizing her up. "AAAHAHAHA, Wilde, you are just too much. First you go running off to play 'Paw and Order', now you hangin' around with a bunny? She don't even look like a streetwise bunny, what did you do, scoop her up out of some little podunk and bring her here just to see the sights?"

Judy was not amused. "Actually, Podunk is in Deerbrooke County. I grew up in Bunnyburrow."

This only caused Finnick to laugh again. "Okay okay, enough. Nick, what did I tell you about showing your ugly muzzle around here in that suit? Get yo' fluffy butt in here before someone sees us." The smaller fox produced a set of keys and opened the van's back door, ushering Nick and Judy inside.

The van was pretty clearly lived-in. Behind the front seats was a small bed covered in rumpled sheets and some hastily-stowed bundles of Finnick's belongings, and the shag carpeting dipped in several spots where heavy objects had recently depressed it. The whole cabin was suffused with the unique, musty smell of vintage wood and fabric. Finnick tossed a large beanbag chair back to Nick and Judy, retrieving a smaller one for himself.

"Now, I can see this ain't a social call. What do you want, Nick? And how did you even know where to find me?" Finnick asked in a more serious tone.

Nick let himself fall bodily into the beanbag, the resulting surge of foam pellets nearly bucking Judy who had seated herself more gently a moment before. "Oh come on, Daddy knows his little boy better than that."

"'EY! Don't think I wont bite your face off right in front of this bunny!" Finnick snapped.

"Actually Nick, I was wondering the same thing. What is he supposed to do with that plate number that you couldn't get from the DMV?" Judy asked as she repositioned herself.

Nick gave her a sage look. "Did I mention which mammals run the DMV, Carrots? Well they're sloths. All of them. We would have been in there until my 48 hours ran out and then some, even if we were lucky and got my buddy Flash to help us out." He waved a paw up at his erstwhile partner. "This guy though, well he likes to keep track of where some of the, shall we say _well off_ residents of Zootopia tend to go. Easiest way to do that is just to follow the fancy cars, and since our self-deprecating yak friend was nice enough to tell us our otter got into a fancy white car with silver trim..."

Judy's eyes lit up as she followed his logic, one foot beginning to thump into the carpet. "Then maybe he knows who owns the car and where it is!" She completed Nick's sentence, punching him lightly in the arm as she did.

Finnick just scowled disinterestedly at Nick. "Nuh-uh. No way, no how Nick. You ain't gonna catch me workin' with the fuzz! Find your own dang car."

"Gee Nick, some partner you found," Judy mockingly lamented at the red fox. "You told me you had been a hustler since you were pretty young, right?"

Nick knew immediately where she was going, and played along. "Did I say that? Yes, yes I did. Since I was 12, in fact, and Finnick was with me almost from the start."

"Wow," breathed Judy in mock surprise. "So, _years_ of history being friends and working together, and now he won't even help you with your duty to find a poor, innocent otter?"

" _Friends_ it stretching it a bit. It's gonna take more than a dumb bunny to pull a guilt trip on old Finnick," the fennec chided her.

Judy continued unfazed. "And even after all that _money_ you must have helped him make, which was how much?"

"Two hundred bucks a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year," Nick proudly declared.

The rabbit pretended to tally the numbers on her paw. "Two hundred a day times three hundred and sixty-five, that's seventy-three thousand... Since you were 12, about two decades, so times twenty years, gives us one million, four hundred and sixty thousand _I think..._ I mean, I am just a _dumb bunny_ , but we are good at multiplying! Wow, Nick, I guess you _can_ put a price on friendship."

Finnick burst out laughing. "I'll give credit where it's due bunny, you've got style. Now I'm gonna assume that when you get tired of hanging around with Saint Nick here and want to come learn to hustle for real, you'll look me up. You've got some real potential, might even out-hustle Nick! Hustle him GOOD! Heeheehee..."

"Don't count on _that_ one, big guy," Nick said, snapping before pointing one of his claws at Finnick with a wink.

"Naw, for real! Won't be able to tell who's hustling who after a minute..." the little fox kept giggling, the hood of his purple onesie bobbing behind his ears. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll bite. Now what's this about a car?"

Judy reached over to Nick's belt and pulled his notepad out of its pouch, handing it to him with a very self-satisfied grin on her muzzle.

"Alright, don't let it go to your head," Nick admonished her quietly as he snatched the pad, flipping it open to the correct page. "Let's see... Big white car, silver trim, in need of maintenance, last seen in Sahara Square leaving the Mystic Spring Oasis. License plate number 29THD03."

Finnick nodded, his impressively large ears swaying as he did so. "Okay. Just give me a sec to get out of this get-up." He stood upright and unzipped the purple costume, revealing an outfit of khaki shorts and a black bowler shirt with a single red stripe as the elephant suit fell to the floor and he kicked it off of his paws.

With greater agility now that he was free of the restrictive fabric, the tan fox leaped over his bed and retrieved a plastic storage box full of hanging files, setting it on top of the wrinkled sheets. With practiced speed and dexterity his little ebony claws flicked across the tabs, finally settling on the relevant header and removing a thin manila envelope with a flourish.

Finnick's copper eyes darted across a page in the file, following his own finger which eventually settled on the information he was searching for. "29THD03... 29THD03... BAM! Got it," he said, victorious, as he turned his head back up to face Nick.

"Way to hustle, pal, I knew we could count on you!" Nick exclaimed, leaning forward expectantly as he waited for Finnick to continue.

Finnick just stared back as he held his place on the paper in his paws.

"Well?" Nick and Judy asked in near-perfect unison.

"You owe me BIG for this one Nick," he responded, his brow leveling into a more serious expression. "See, I got this idea a while back for a hustle. I'll spare you the details, but to get it rolling I'll need one of those huge Jumbo Pop popsicles they only sell to big mammals, elephants and hippos and the like. You're gonna help me get one."

"Okay, fine. We'll make it happen. So where is this car?" Nick growled.

Finnick donned his own toothy variation of Nick's usual expression. "I'll tell you just as soon as we get back."

"You want to do this right now? Are you serious?" Nick said, his left ear tilting down in irritation. "This really isn't the best time."

"Yeah, we're kind of running against the clock," Judy chimed in.

"So I heard," Finnick said, "48 hours, right? I'm guessing something important happens after 48 hours and it ain't this car you're looking for turning back into a pumpkin. I think I've got a pretty good idea what it is too. Sounds like we better get hustling!"

Nick jumped up off the beanbag and snatched the papers out of the other fox's grasp, turning immediately to look for the information he needed. The pages were blank. All of them.

"HAHAHAHAAAAA, you should see the look on your face!" Finnick guffawed. "You really think I'd keep that kind of thing layin' around here for anyone to find? Never forget who taught you how to play this game, Nick. Now, let's get this show on the road, or the only place you'll be writing tickets is in line at the unemployment office. Or you can try your luck with the sloths. Up to you."

Nick had never looked less amused. "Well then, let's go get us a Jumbo Pop."

Finnick jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine; as the van came to life, some very loud rap in a foreign language started blasting out of the speakers. The fennec fox took his sunglasses from the dashboard, slapped them on his face, and pulled out of the alley.

* * *

"We've probably passed twenty ice cream shops by now, where are we going exactly?" Nick said as he climbed up into the passenger seat half an hour later.

"You know the drill," Finnick replied, "can't start too close to home. I've been keeping tabs on the shops up here, this is the one we can work. Now get yourself outta those blues, I think I still have some threads your size in the back." The van turned around one final corner, coming to a stop along the sidewalk. "This is the place!" he said, pointing to the end of the street.

Nick looked out the windshield to where Finnick was indicating, and his eyes went wide; it was Jumbeaux's Cafe. "That's going to be a no-go on this place pal, I was just in there last week on patrol. The owner knows who I am. Got another place to try?"

"What? Dang..." Finnick swore. "No, this was it. Why do you gotta do this to me Wilde?"

Nick shrugged unapologetically. "Well then, since you're sans mark, I guess we're... Done?"

Finnick looked deep in thought for a moment, but then suddenly his eyes lit up and he spun around in the seat. "Hey bunny, how's your street game?"

Judy had been watching the city go by through one of the circular bubble windows in the back of the van, and was caught off guard. "Uh, what?"

"Can you act? Make stuff up as you go?" Finnick expanded.

"I guess so, I mean there was this talent show we had back when I was a kit..." she began.

"Okay cool, I don't need your whole autobiography. This could work." The tawny desert fox jumped from the driver's seat and went to the back of the van to explain his plan to Judy as he pulled his costume back on up to his torso and retrieved the pacifier.

"You catch all that?" Finnick said after hastily rattling off a scheme. Judy nodded. "Great. Nick, you just wait out front for a signal if we need backup. Let's move."

Finnick pushed the back door open and jumped from the tailgate, proceeding to wobble down the sidewalk with the stiff-limbed movements of a juvenile, befitting his cover. Judy exited next, buttoning a plain blouse over her blue shirt and vest as she hopped to the pavement. Nick casually stepped out behind her as he flicked his sunglasses back onto his face, shutting the door again behind them.

As they shadowed the little purple-clad hustler, Judy looked up with an uneasy expression. "I'm not so sure about this, Nick," she said in a hushed tone.

Nick didn't let the carefree grin fade from his face, though internally his mind was racing. _This shop, of all places... The world has quite the sense of humor,_ he thought. "Don't sweat it Carrots, this is just like an undercover mission. We're not breaking any laws. If there was a better way to find Otterton right now we'd be doing it, that's the truth."

"You can't just go in and buy what he wants? I mean, you _are_ a cop..."

"There are rules about that kind of thing. Not the best time to get into it. Just do your part, I'll be right outside."

Nick casually stopped to examine something in a shop window, allowing Judy to catch up to Finnick as the mock child entered the ice cream parlor. With the other two out of sight he let the defensive smile drop from his face. Despite his assurances, he really didn't like this plan either. Especially now that he was distracted by deja vu from the weird dreams the week before.

A bell chimed above the door as it was pushed open by a teenage hippo, allowing Judy and Finnick to slip through the massive entry behind him. They took their place in line behind a counter sized for the mammals behind it, a gruff-looking bull elephant wearing a pastel hat and apron, and a female behind him wearing a similar uniform. To the side was a glass display freezer which held their prize; three Jumbo Pops, yellow, red, and blue.

"Next!" called the pachyderm at the counter, making eye contact with an older female elephant who had fallen in line behind Judy.

The bunny took a breath and steeled herself. "Down here!" she waved at the clerk. "Hi! I'd like one Jumbo Pop please, for this little guy right here."

The cashier followed the voice down to look at the smiling bunny and wide-eyed, pacifier-suckling fennec fox. Taking on a weary look as he rolled his eyes, he said "what, there aren't any rabbit ice cream joints open on your side of town?"

Judy was taken aback at his harsh tone, but didn't let it show. "Oh, there are," she said, smiling brighter. "But this goofy little stinker here, well, he loves all things elephant. Even wants to be one when he grows up. Isn't that adorable?"

Finnick pulled the hood and trunk over his face, giving a quick toot.

Jumbeaux let out a breath. "Look lady, if I give that kid a Jumbo Pop, he'll never finish it. It will just melt all over the floor and then I'll have to mop up a sticky mess. We've got rules for a reason."

"We'll take it to go then!" Judy said as Ele-Finnick tottered over to the case. "Okay little guy, you want the red or the blue?" He pointed at the red pop in the middle, and as he turned his head he looked right past Judy and made eye contact with Nick outside, blinking twice.

"They still teach reading out in the tri-burrows, right bunny? Well read this." The shopkeeper pulled a sign into view with his trunk, pointing to each word as he read it. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Now scram."

"You're holding up the line!" barked the older female pachyderm behind them. The door bell chimed once more.

Judy knelt down to Finnick's eye level. "Sorry little toot-toot, this has to be about the worst birthday ever," she said, planting a quick kiss on his forehead. He sobbed through the costume, producing two sad little toots.

"Did I hear a birthday boy in here?" Nick said from the doorway as he sauntered in behind another patron.

"Oh, hello officer. Actually, we were just leaving." Judy sighed, looking at the little faux elephant once more. "Maybe we can dig up a birthday treat for you somewhere back at the orphanage."

"And he's an _orphan?_ " Nick feigned shock. "Well now, we can't let him leave without a birthday treat! Mr. Jumbeaux, don't you agree?"

The store owner glared; behind him, his employee scooped up a large mound of strawberry ice cream. "Afternoon, Officer Wilde. Like the bunny says, she was just leaving."

Nick looked pointedly at the worker, suddenly speaking in a louder voice. "Whoopsie, hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure that serving food with an un-gloved trunk is a health code violation! Class three, in fact. I'd hate to think of your customers getting SNOT AND MUCUS with their cookies and cream!"

Several of the onlooking cafe patrons balked, and one elephant unfortunate enough to have just taken a bite sprayed it all over his friend as he involuntarily gagged. The employee dropped the scoop of dessert, shuffling sheepishly into the back room while wiping her trunk on her apron. Jumbeaux looked horrified.

Nick smirked and went on. "Of course, I _could_ overlook it for now if you were to glove up those sniffers and finish getting the birthday boy here his Jumbo Pop. Sound fair enough?"

The elephant's face sank back into a frown. "Fifteen dollars," he droned.

Nick pulled out his wallet and laid a twenty on the counter. "Keep the change," he said coolly to the shop owner before spinning to face Judy. "My treat, miss...?"

"Hopps," Judy supplied, shaking his paw. "Thank you so much, officer, you're too kind!"

Finnick stretched his arms up at the navy-clad fox.

"Oh, look at that smile! That's a happy birthday smile!" Nick said as Finnick bounced on his toes.

Jumbeaux handed the red Jumbo Pop over to Nick, and with the eyes of a score of cafe patrons on their backs, they took their leave.

* * *

"I think that might just be the first good thing that's ever come from you being a cop!" Finnick laughed as they got far enough away from Jumbeaux's Cafe. "And what did I tell you, this bunny is a natural."

Nick ignored him as he hefted the spoils of their victory from his shoulder and passed the frozen treat to his old partner. "So where is this car?"

"Just one more thing," the large-eared fox grunted as he took hold of the Jumbo Pop's stick.

"Hey!" Judy angrily interjected. "We did what you asked, you can't keep us on the hook forever. We don't have time for any more of your schemes."

"Keep your fluffy tail on, rabbit, it won't take long. I just need Nick's help getting this thing onto that roof." Finnick used his nose to point to a building with a terra cotta roof next to his parked van, where what looked like a roasting spit had been set up above the gutter.

Nick saw what he was supposed to do, jumping on top of a stack of wooden pallets high enough to climb onto the building's fire escape. Finnick passed back the popsicle, and he hauled it up the rickety metal steps to the roof and placed it into the holder that had been set up. He then gracefully slid down the roof tiles and jumped over the edge, grabbing the downspout with a paw and sliding down again to land on the sidewalk.

Finnick pulled the cover off what appeared to be a heap of trash, revealing several large glass jars. He placed one under the gutter pipe just as red juice began trickling down. "Okay, now that car you're looking for. I don't even need my list for that one, it almost ran me over a couple of weeks ago. I remember that plate number. You're gonna be looking for a refrigerated limousine."

Nick was suddenly alert. "A limo took Otterton? Well, only one place that could be!"

"Why would an otter need a refrigerated limo?" Judy asked.

"Not a clue," Nick replied, "but there's only one company that operates refrigerated limos, and they're in Tundratown." He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "If we hurry, we should be able to make it before they close!"

"What are we waiting for then?" Judy exclaimed, springing onto her toes.

"That's the spirit, Carrots. Let's go!"

Together they sprinted up the street and out of sight, leaving Finnick shaking his head and laughing to himself as he loaded a jar of red popsicle juice into his van.

* * *

"Closed. Great," Nick said, shaking the chain and padlock securing the gate of Tundratown Limo Service. "And I can't request a warrant to get in since I'm still locked out of ZPD resources."

"That just isn't fair, we are so close!" Judy said, leaning against the fence to try to see the license plates on the parked limousines. It was useless, the driving artificial blizzards of Zootopia's arctic district immediately coated everything with opaque snow and ice.

"Yeah, well you know what they say about 'close'. It only counts in horseshoes and... Carrots?"

The rabbit had disappeared; where she had last stood there was a bunny-sized hole in the snow. On the opposite side of the fence, two gray-furred ears with black tips poked up from a snow bank.

"Carrots! What are you doing?" Nick hissed. "Get back over here!"

"Why don't _you_ come over _here?_ " she teased. "I'm pretty sure I saw a shifty-looking bunny burrowing under the fence."

"Oh, so I have probable cause now, is that it? A few hours with Finnick and he's already rubbing off on you. Fantastic." Nick grabbed onto the chain link surface and climbed over the frigid barrier, trying very hard not to smile at Judy's sly ingenuity.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart!" Judy sang the saccharine mimicry of Nick's usual line with a sassy swing of her hips.

Nick dropped softly into a snowdrift on the inside of the fence. Together they proceeded down the line of parked limousines, wiping snow off the license plates until they found the car they were searching for.

"29THD03, this is it!" Nick whispered loudly as he located the right tag.

The driver's door had been left unlocked, and a blast of air even colder than the artificial winter around them escaped as it was pulled open. The fox and the bunny climbed into the cab, shutting the door as quietly as possible. Nick was at home in the dark interior, the predator's eyes offering excellent night vision. Judy, on the other hand, needed to pull out her phone for its flashlight.

"Look at this," Judy whispered, picking up a tuft of something white from the floor beneath the driver's seat. "Looks like polar bear fur!"

Nick nodded in agreement, though as common as polar bears were in Tundratown he thought nothing of it, proceeding immediately to pull open the car's glovebox. "Oh my god!" he gasped, his tail sticking straight out as he grabbed onto something within.

Judy stiffened, turning her phone's light onto the fox as she responded almost involuntarily. "What?!"

"The Velvety Pipes with Jerry Vole!" the vulpine exclaimed as he pulled two jewel cases from the compartment and displayed their covers to the bunny, a mischievous grin consuming his visage. "But on CD, who still uses CDs?"

Judy rolled her eyes and allowed her ears to fall back down from their alert position. "Nicholas Wilde, you're one ridiculous mammal," she breathed, climbing on top of the seat back.

"Takes one to know one, Fluff. You know you're loving every second of it," Nick retorted.

"Uh, Nick?" Judy said, a slight quaver in her voice as she turned back from the limousine's partition. The fox's keen eyes turned upwards at the sound of his name and he saw the rabbit's nose had begun to twitch. "You might want to see this."

His smile faded as he jumped on top of the broad seat, peering through the divider to see what had his junior detective so frazzled. The scene he was met with caused his own ears to fall flat against the back of his head; nearly every surface in the passenger compartment was marred by deep parallel gouges, and sizable chunks looked to have been bitten from the upholstery in several places.

"Those are claw marks, right?" Judy asked apprehensively.

"Yeah," Nick confirmed. "If our otter was here, he had a very bad day..."

Something on the floor glinted as Judy scanned her light across the rear of the vehicle. "Look, there's something down there!"

Nick slipped through the opening, landing wraithlike on the plush carpeting, and picked up the item Judy had indicated as the bunny joined him. "It's his wallet! Otterton was here, all right," concern seeped into his voice as he inspected the ID and several cards inside.

"But why? Who would take him all the way out to Tundratown, and what in the world happened here?"

"That's what we've got to figure out..." Nick trailed off as another shiny object caught his eye, an ornate crystal drinking glass that had been knocked off a mini-bar. He reached a paw down to pick it up and turned it over in his grip. The cup bore an etched graphic, a single letter in an ornamental gothic script.

The long, copper fur on the nape of the fox's neck stood on end as he saw the design. "Wait a minute. Oh, no no no... I know whose car this is, we have to leave. Now." he said in a harsh whisper.

"Why, whose car is it?" Judy asked, wide-eyed.

"That night at your spot in Bunnyburrow, remember when I told you I had a run-in with someone powerful?" Nick began as he haphazardly replaced the cup on its rack. Judy nodded. "Well, that's whose car this is. He's the most dangerous mammal in all of Tundratown, and he does NOT like me, so we have to go!"

"I-Isn't this a crime scene?" Judy stammered as Nick grabbed a paw and pulled her to the back door.

"Yeah, and it's going to be an even bigger one if _he_ finds me here, so let's go!" Nick grabbed the handle for the door and swung it wide. As his nose turned to point into the frosty night, he was met by the sight of two towering white-furred mammals blocking their exit.

"Raymond! And is that Kevin?" the fox exclaimed, trying to keep a calm appearance though the shock that jolted his entire body betrayed him. Judy was stunned into fearful silence behind his back. "Long time, no see! Speaking of 'no see', how about you forget you saw _me?_ Huh? For old-times' sake?"

The two polar bears reached down in unison, grabbing the pair in vise-like grips that enclosed their entire bodies. "That's a 'no'," Nick groaned as he and Judy were plucked from the limo and hauled across the lot to another car which sat idling. The bears got in, unceremoniously deposited the fox and the bunny between them, and shut the door as the car's engine roared and carried them out of sight.

* * *

 **Hey! So, this was ready to post several days ago but for whatever reason I wasn't able to upload it until now. Also I apologize for my slower updates in general, I have been finding myself with less and less free time to write lately.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **~FoxStang**

 **The cover image is used with permission, and is copyright of user "sweetmarshmella" on DeviantArt.**


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